Squid Siblings
by Scuttlest
Summary: Through Turf Wars, regular life, and beyond, a brother and sister make their way in the lives they lead. OC starring story.
1. Daily Turf Wars

**In an attempt to come out of retirement as a fanfiction writer, I've resolved to write a nice little Splatoon series. So, welcome everyone!**

 **Hope you enjoy this series, starring a few OCs I've conceived.**

 **Let me warn you ahead of time, there will be some single player mode spoilers in the series, but this first chapter should be safe for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else is Nintendo's.**

* * *

The turf was even, so even!

The seconds counted down in the last seconds of Turf War in Walleye Warehouse as yellow ink wrestled with blue ink. The inked turf between the two teams was almost perfectly even. So close, the match had reached a point where, if one competitor splatted a member of the opposing team, the loss of manpower for one team would likely be what decided the match.

One yellow-haired Inkling, wielding an Octobrush, ran for cover as two of his opponents closed in on him.

"Nice try, pipsqueak." One of the blue haired Inklings chuckled. He turned to his ally and nodded, signaling an unspoken plan.

Rushing in, the ink of a Splatterscope left a trail, intended less to splat and more to hinder his opponent's movement. His eyes met with the yellow-haired Inkling, and his lips curled into a smirk as he fired again, boxing his opponent in.

The yellow haired Inkling was in a dire bind. Two paths of ink cut off his escape routes, straight in front of him was his opponent, who would splat him before his brush would reach him. Behind him was a wall that couldn't be climbed. He readied himself for a bold response to his dilemma, and then the signal for an unexpected attack came.

The yellow haired Inkling looked up just in time to see an Inkstrike coming down. The opponent standing across from him burst into hysterical laughter as his opponent disappeared behind the ink.

"Hah, you let yourself get cornered, idiot." The second blue-haired Inkling returned, holding his Roller. The ink of the Inkstrike continued to swirl, violently twisting as though it was sending a harsh declaration that the match was effectively over.

Five seconds left...

Satisfied with the plan, and fat with pride at an inevitable victory, the Splatterscope wielder turned away, but the Roller user squinted his eyes to look into the inky vortex.

"Wait, he's...!"

The Splatterscope wielder turned back, something was still inside the Inkstrike, and now it was hurtling towards them!

"K-K- _Kraken_!" It proved to be the last words of the Roller for the match. The yellow Kraken rushed ahead as the Inkstrike vanished, and splatted the boy before the panic could even properly take hold of him.

The Splatterscope wielder saw how the tables had turned and tried to flee. His body seemed to melt, then take semi-solid form as a small squid as he tried to escape. It was only half a second before he swam into crippling enemy ink. Desperately, he shifted back to his humanoid form and tried to turn and fire at the Kraken, but to no avail. His body burst into ink at the Kraken's touch, before he could even make a single panicked shot.

At what seemed like a millisecond afterwards, the ringing sound that signaled the end of the game was heard. For better or for worse, the game was over.

* * *

Judd began his survey of the battleground. The two blue haired Inkling boys collectively swallowed as they stood by their teammates. The Splatterscope wielder looked at his enemy. That one solitary yellow haired boy was waiting for the results, looking like the picture of calmness. Did he feel assured of victory, or-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of cheers and groans mixed together. He turned back to Judd, and his mouth gaped open. The blue team had lost by exactly 2%. Probably all because of the defeat they had been dealt by the Kraken in the closing seconds.

"Lum!" He shook an indignant fist at his yellow haired opponent. "I'll return this favor soon enough! Fair victory or not, I'll have you quivering in your own ink after one of these battles!"

The yellow haired Inkling, Lum, smiled at the angry response. His opponent stormed away, still outraged at how close the battle had been, the rest of the blue team followed after him.

* * *

Lum left the tower and entered into Inkopolis Plaza. As tense as some might have said that game was, outside things carried on as usual. A plethora of Inklings of various shades of skin and differing genders were walking around as if they owned the place. Some trying on new clothes, others swarming Ammo Knights in hopes of trying out new weapons. Oh, and there was that one Inkling trying to jump on another Inkling's head at the wall across from the tower. Always an awkward sight.

The Great Zapfish was wrapped around the tower at the back of the plaza. It looked almost oblivious to the creatures meandering beneath it. It seemed quite content as it practically cuddled the tower, as electrical power was drawn out of its massive body to power Inkling society.

As Lum prepared to take a step forward, a girl suddenly came beside him.

"And away walks the conquering champion." She said, grabbing Lum by his shoulder, just slightly jerking him to the side.

"Wha-" Lum turned to the girl, recognition lit his eyes. "Oh, Hum."

Lum's elder sister. While he had fourteen years of life, Hum had sixteen. Hum wasn't a common sight in this area. Unlike her brother, she expressed no real interest in Turf Wars, which made her a little out of place in the plaza, which was built around the Turf Wars. She wasn't really good at them, and wasn't exactly a team player either. In fact, the only time she paid any amount of attention to them, was when Lum was competing.

Like her brother, she possessed yellow hair. She also shared Lum's eye color and skin tone, it didn't take much brain power to see that they were related. Heck, they even both wore glasses. Lum pushed his own pair up his nose as they started to slip down.

"How did your new weapon work?"

Lum smirked, then glanced down at his Octobrush. "Good enough, but..." He put the weapon away, then took out a distinctive golden gun. "The RG is still my stand-by."

Hum tapped her cheek a few times in thought. "Seems to me like you're all about a good fire-rate." Her eyes drifted skyward, examining the distant sky. A lot of Inklings would be enthralled at the idea of a weapon that shot so far it might ink the clouds. Lum seemed satisfied with a short range weapon, provided it did all it needed to do in that short range.

"You're done for the day, right? Let's get back home." She glanced across Booyah Base. "You know I hate crowds." This girl was rarely one for social interaction, unless it was with her family. Hum didn't like the sheer volume of Inklings that collected in this area every day.

After a moment of thought, she turned back to her brother. "Your team was three strangers. None of them tried to get cozy with you after the match, right?"

Lum shook his head. Hum sighed, in what seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and relief. "Too many others just want you as a 'win button' for the battles, and they don't care about you as an individual. Though it would be nice if you met an actual nice person."

"Didn't you sabotage my last attempt to meet an 'actual nice person', little miss inconsistency?"

About a week back, Hum had been pressuring Lum to 'find a nice girl'. The day after that, Lum had left the tower with a female teammate, just discussing some memorable moments from the day's matches. Before long, Hum walked up and just about bit the girl's head off for being in her brother's general proximity. Now that girl was too scared to approach Lum.

"That's not my fault, Lum." Hum retorted. "You're a terrible judge of character."

Lum's eyes widened and he took a step back, like he had been struck. Hum was smiling for a second, then her mouth gaped open when she realized what she had said.

"L-Lum, I didn't mean that, I-" She buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."

Throughout his life, Lum had _tried_ to make friends. The friendships just never worked out. As some kind of cosmic joke, every 'friend' Lum made would betray him sooner or later. Blab any personal secrets he had told them, sell him out when it was convenient, or other examples of backstabbing. Sometimes it took longer than others before it happened, but it meant that, in his regular life, Hum was perhaps the only person around Lum's age who was truly loyal to him.

"It's alright." Lum soothed, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Forget about it."

"I really am sorry." Hum whispered. She was technically correct, Lum wasn't the best judge of character, but it's not something Lum would be reminded about. The typical conclusion to Lum's friendships had led to Hum being extremely picky in regards to who approached her brother. As that girl from a few days ago learned the hard way.

Lum looked ready to assure his sister again, but then the sound of footsteps approaching caught his attention.

Two Inklings, the very two he had splatted in the closing seconds of his last match. Hum also took note of them, and immediately positioned herself between them and her brother.

"Get lost."

They seemed more amused at Hum's threatening tone than anything else.

Lum and Hum knew these two well. One of them, Pyrot, who favored a Splatterscope, with his notably pale skin. The other, Cranch, with tanned skin, like he had spent too much time at Mahi-Mahi, preferred the Roller. However, it wasn't any antagonism over Turf Wars that spawned Hum's hostile words.

"Why all the venom?" Cranch asked, tilting his head to the side. "Your brother and I are friends."

Hum's eyes narrowed. " _Were_ friends." Her hands suddenly clenched. "Among everyone who's wronged Lum, you two were by far the worst."

"Your pipsqueak brother wronged _me_." Pyrot suddenly interjected. His voice was low and hostile, it seemed he was still upset about the last match. "I ask for a few small favors, and he abandons me."

Lum tightly shut his eyes. 'Small favors' Pyrot calls them. Pyrot had been having him do things that could have put Lum into real jeopardy, or even have him serving jail time. Meanwhile, Pyrot stayed snug in his house, away from any potential risks.

"I'm quite thankful that Hum finally convinced me to be done with you." Lum retorted. "Do you have any real business here?"

"Be careful, Lum." Hum took a step back, nearly backing into her brother. "Remember, these two are perfectly fine taking advantages outside the game to win a Turf War."

Pyrot's scowl shifted to a smirk. "It's about the principle of the thing. I _like_ winning. Though it's a bit unfair to accuse me of having something to do with how my opponents have a funny tendency to be so late they miss the games."

Cranch laughed. Hum growled. Lum grabbed his sister's shoulder.

"We should just go, Hum. Anything's better then encouraging them." Without waiting for an answer, he began to drag his sister away. She tried to hold her ground and had to be literally dragged at first, but then followed the path her brother was guiding her on.

"You never make a good face anymore, Lum." Cranch called after them, wearing the smug, condescending face that was basically his normal face. "It was fun using you to ride to victory back then, but my favorite part of our friendship is that look you gave me when you realized I didn't care for you at all."

Hum suddenly hissed and broke free of her brother's grip. With that little warning, she suddenly lunged.

* * *

"Be thankful no authority was looking. You could have really gotten into trouble for that." Away from Booyah Base, they were now in the comfort of their own home, in Lum's room. Lum sat on his bed, Hum stood across from him.

"He deserved a lot more than a punch, Lum." Hum soothed her fist. "How could he throw that in your face, like that?"

"Because he's Cranch." Lum answered. "At what point after the friendship did he do anything that remotely suggests that he had any kind of standards?"

Hum nodded. "I really do hate the two of them." Cranch and Pyrot, two shameless opportunists who hurt and betrayed Lum, and Hum was certain that her brother wasn't the only person they had mistreated like that.

And it certainly didn't take them long to run after Hum turned violent. Those two had no spine. Well, no Inkling had a spine, boneless and all, but one probably got the point.

"Lum, please don't test out new weapons in matches one of those two are participating in again. I really don't want to put up with the attitudes those two will have if unfamiliarity with their weapon lets them squeak out a win."

Lum shrugged. "Without any cheating tricks, those two aren't really all that skilled. I don't think there'll be any problems."

Hum sighed. If only her brother took this more seriously. It would have been wrong beyond wrong for them to have another excuse to taunt Lum, and that last round was unsettlingly close. But the perception of the younger sibling on this matter was clearly very different then the perception of the older sibling.

"A bit of music might perk me up." Hum said after a silence. "Lum, I let you listen to my music. What's your favorite song from Squid Squad?"

"Um..."

"Okay, your favorite song from Hightide Era?"

"Er..."

"Chirpy Chips?"

"Ah..."

"...Bob Dub?"

"Is that a band or an individual musician?"

Hum's palm smacked into her forehead. "Honestly, Lum, you wouldn't even know who the Squid Sisters are if they didn't host stage rotations."

Lum made a weak laugh. "I've told you enough times that I'm a musical illiterate."

Making a small sigh, Hum walked over and sat beside her younger brother. "Well, that's okay. Sometimes peace and quiet with no music is fine, too. Really, as long as there's no unnecessary crowds."

These two had been blessed with a wonderful sibling relationship. They had their disagreements and their squabbles, but they seemed incapable of _staying_ angry with each other. Though there had been those occasions where they didn't speak to each other for exceptionally extended periods of time.

"Even if you have your moments where you drive me up the wall, I still love my dear brother."

"Truly? You didn't seem to love me that much on the day I gave my appraisal of your violin skills."

Hum shot her brother a look. "I'm trying to give us a nice sibling moment here. Don't ruin it."

"Really? Sibling moment? From the girl who almost daily uses 'older sibling authority' to get her way? I think-mmph!"

Hum had put her index finger and thumb on Lum's lips to clamp them shut.

"Zip it."

* * *

 **Mostly a character introduction chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. More chapters will be coming.**


	2. Secret Life

**Chapter 2. My warning of single player story spoilers will be bearing fruit now.**

 **I own OCs. Everything else is credit to their respective owners.**

* * *

Hum looked out the window of her bedroom. Many tall, grey buildings blanketed her vision, but far, far off in the distance, stood the tower of Inkopolis Plaza.

Suffering from far-sightedness, she needed her glasses to perceive objects close to her. Fortunately, what she was trying to look at was already in the distance, making her glasses unnecessary for this occasion. Though, with the morning sun illuminating the tower so splendidly, a near-sighted squid would have been able to see it perfectly.

Wrapped around the tower was the Great Zapfish, and the electrical power siphoned out of it served as the backbone for Inkling society. There were hundreds of other, smaller Zapfish, but it was the Great Zapfish that their society simply could not live without.

Which is the reason why it was more than a bit distressing, two months back, when the Great Zapfish suddenly vanished. Then, about a week after its disappearance, it suddenly reappeared on the tower. It seemed like no one really knew what, precisely, had happened to it.

 _Probably just some dumb publicity stunt._ Hum thought to herself. It wasn't gone for long, all the disappearance really accomplished was making some Inklings mildly uneasy. Yet it was back before anyone could truly panic. She could imagine some local authorities laughing up a storm over the Great Zapfish.

And how horrible it was to think of the Great Zapfish being used like that. Hum thought the Great Zapfish was adorable looking. As were the smaller Zapfish. She might have tried to cuddle one, if it weren't for the fact that they discharge electricity and would probably kill her. So, she had to settle for spending time with a little Zapfish doll her brother brought her out of the blue once.

She held said doll in her arms. It looked exactly like a real regular Zapfish, ignoring the fact that it was obviously made of fabric. It even had whiskers on it, as well as a silly blue hat on top of it. Hum did wonder why the doll had the hat at all. Though she did feel that it made the doll look even cuter.

Behind her, Lum peered into his sister's room. He had a curious sack over his shoulder, and it seemed he didn't want his sister to detect his presence.

Hum was preoccupied looking at something in the distance. A perfect distraction, Lum grinned. He began to creep past the doorway.

As his foot came down, the floor creaked. Hum suddenly turned around. There was no one in her doorway. She blinked once, twice, then turned back toward the tower.

* * *

Lum entered into the plaza. At first glance he looked like he was heading for the tower, but then he suddenly darted to the right. He opened the sack he was carrying, contained inside was a curious set of clothing. A strange black and yellow uniform, very distinct and completely unlike anything sold in Booyah Base.

He took his glasses off. While his sister wore glasses to correct vision problems, he just wore them because he liked the way they felt on his face. However, where he was going, it would be better to not wear an article of clothing that could possibly be a distraction.

Switching his clothes, his body melted into squid form, and he slipped down a sewer grate.

Octo Valley. The home of the Octarians, and where Lum found a second life for himself.

He landed on a second grate, then immediately stood up and made a salute.

"Cap'n Cuttlefish! Agent 3 reporting for duty!"

"Bucko!" Cuttlefish, an aged Inkling, and a veteran of the Great Turf War, greeted the arriving Lum.

Many days had passed since Lum first came here. He entered the sewers to be by himself for a while after another 'friendship' had ended on a sour note. By coincidence, it was the same day that the Great Zapfish vanished. He never could have expected he'd be swept up into a great battle with the Octarians. Creatures that he, along with every other Inkling of his generation, had only seen in history books.

As it turns out, the Octarians were the ones behind the stolen Zapfish. Lum ended up having to get them all back, one by one. Fighting with the Octarians was not always an easy battle, but it was one he eventually won. He prevailed over the Octarians and reclaimed the Zapfish in a battle that most of Inkopolis would likely never know happened.

"Agent 3!" A girl wearing a similar outfit to him, but with different headwear, suddenly ran up. Agent 1, a black haired girl, and one of his comrades down in Octo Valley.

At first she looked happy at seeing Lum, but her relieved expression quickly changed. A change that gave away the fact that trouble was afoot. Lum glanced around, and he noticed that there was someone who wasn't here.

"Where's Agent 2?" Lum queried. Normally there was a second girl with milk white hair, and a mouth mask that was hard to miss. Today she was nowhere to be seen.

"We need your help to find her, Agent 3." Agent 1 said. Lum gave her a confused look.

Cuttlefish spoke up. "I sent Agent 1 and 2 on a scouting mission. It looked like safe territory to me, but they were suddenly ambushed by some octo-jerks! Agent 1 made it back safely, but they captured Agent 2."

Lum's eyes widened, then narrowed. Agent 1 looked at him expectedly, and he was ready to make an appropriate response. His words came with confidence. "Okay, I can take there of that fast."

* * *

"Lum?" Hum walked through her house, looking for her brother. "Lum, where are you?" She paced through the hallways, up and down the stairs several times, but there was no sign of her brother anywhere. Had he gone to the plaza to participate in the Turf Wars? Hum had specifically asked him to tell her where he was going if he was heading to the tower.

Or had he just vanished again? He had this habit of disappearing, it started ever since the day the Great Zapfish temporarily vanished. Hum thought she saw a connection and was sure that he wouldn't vanish after the Great Zapfish returned, but he continued to disappear. To this day he remained tight-lipped as to where he was going, and Hum, who tried to be a good older sister, didn't like it.

He'd always come back perfectly fine, though more often than not he looked like he had been doing something quite exhausting. He always seemed to be in a good mood when he returned, but there was no telling what he was doing.

"Lum, if you're still in this house, do something!" She glanced around, no action graced her vision, nor did any noise register on her ear. "Lum, please!"

She was met with nothing. She sighed. "Well, if the wounded sister trick didn't work, then he's obviously not in the house."

* * *

"Y-yes, I know it's not the one you wanted, but if you'd-"

The Octoling suddenly jerked back from the radio and covered her ears, wincing in pain. Her superior was not happy. Not happy at all.

The plan they had formed some time ago was perfect. Relieve the Inklings of a considerable number of their Zapfish, and reactive the Great Octoweapons. After some preparation, they could have conceivably assaulted Inkopolis itself.

Yet that perfectly calculated stealthy kidnapping of the Zapfish was all for naught. Cuttlefish recruited a new agent. His other two agents were nothing special, but this new one ripped the Octarian army apart like it was a casual pastime for him. Even the reactivated Great Octoweapons couldn't stop him, despite the history books singing of their effectiveness in the Great Turf War before that unfortunate plug was pulled.

Assaults, ambushes, pincer attacks, you name it, that new agent overcame it. They tried kidnapping Cuttlefish, but that only made the agent even more determined. Their leader, Octavio, with the power of the Great Zapfish, was able to hold his own in the fight for quite some time, but even he was defeated by this lone Inkling.

Now the Octarian army was in shambles and a splintered mess, but a new plan was quickly formed. No matter the cost, they had to splat this new agent that Cuttlefish had recruited. It was for this reason the ambush was planned in the first place.

"I never saw the Inkling who wrecked our army. If I'd been told what he looks like, I wouldn't have wasted our time with-"

She jerked back again. Her superior could bust your ears when she was angry.

There was the sudden sound of a light scuffle on the other side of the radio, then another voice, distinctively male, was speaking.

"Sir?" The Octoling quietly listened to the words she was hearing. "Ah, yes sir! If that boy does show up, I'm sure that will give me an advantage over him."

The radio fell silent. The Octoling sighed. Her superiors were overwhelming. She was one of many who felt that there was no choice but to follow individuals of such presence, but their personalities also meant that no one wanted to report bad news to them.

The Octoling turned, Cuttlefish's Agent 2 was sitting on the floor, tied up and gagged.

Agent 2 glanced at her captor. The Octoling couldn't see it behind the mouth mask and the gag, but she managed to grin. The attack was meant to capture Agent 3, one could only imagine what the Octarians would do to him if he was at their mercy, but their ambush caught the wrong Inkling.

And it was only a matter of time before Agent 3 showed up. With what she had seen the boy do during the Zapfish incident, there was no doubt that this group of Octarians wouldn't last long.

"You're lucky. You have some further use for us." The Octoling glanced at the Inkling on the floor. "A hostage situation would likely make Agent 3 become very... agreeable. You get to avoid being splatted, provided that boy does show up. If not-" She glanced at her Octoshot, then gave a sinister grin.

* * *

One Octotrooper patrolled outside the fortress, he cast a careful glance around as his mobile platform carried him above the Octo ink. Presumably, there would be some sort of rescue attempt made for the Inkling they had captured. If it was just the other female agent it would likely be no problem to repel her, perhaps even capture her as well. However, if it was that boy... they would have to fight with more than they had if they wanted to win.

Cuttlefish's Agent 3 had become the source of horror stories among the Octarians. Skill of his level was legendary, but unfortunately he was an Inkling, not an Octarian. Stories of his talent were dime a dozen at this point. Each story had the same basic plot, a perfectly planned out and coordinated ambush, which was then defeated by the amazing adaptability and skill of this one Inkling.

The Octotrooper found himself shivering at just the idea of Agent 3 being who showed up. For now, there was no sign of any Inklings coming, with any luck no one would. They could be called back to safer territory and-

A Splat Bomb suddenly flew through the air, and landed right on the platform the Octotrooper was standing on. He only had the time to widen his eyes in doomed realization before it went off.

Lum shifted to his squid form and waited. Some other Octarians were already moving to investigate the explosion.

"Um, Agent 3? Why aren't you just charging the Octo-fort?" Agent 1 asked. She was still with the captain, communicating to her comrade long distance, her voice registering in the earpieces Lum was wearing. "I mean, after what you were capable of with the Zapfish kidnappings, I don't think-"

"Agent 1." Lum interrupted. "I like to think I'm a bit more calculating then that. I'll get inside the fortress before announcing that I'm here like that."

"Alright, Agent 3." Agent 1 conceded. She thought it was awesome when 3 did run in guns blazing, but she also liked that calm, cool attitude he had when on a mission. "Gramps and I'll just help you out from over here, just like in that incident."

Lum blinked. "What? You never helped me at all. You just yapped pointless comments while I did all the work."

"Oh, right. Well, Agent 3, good job on doing a song and dance number that interfered with Octavio's machine."

"I-" Lum trailed off. "Alright. You win."

Agent 1 beamed a little.

"Agent 2's probably at the top of the fortress, Agent 3." Cuttlefish said, moving the conversation along. "Same place you'd expect them to keep a Zapfish."

The Octarians took a long look at the yellow ink that laid where an ally of theirs had been previously. They collectively made uncomfortable glances around. After several minutes, they began cautiously re-covering the area with octo ink, all the while scanning the area around them.

Lum swam forward, weaving through the Octarian ink as they cleaned, eventually stopping in a small bit of his ink that the Octarians didn't re-cover. As the Octarians huddled together, Lum saw his chance.

Suddenly springing out of his ink, he attacked. This group of Octarians must have been well trained, one of them managed to shoot twice before Lum took them all down.

With that done, all that was left to do here was enter the fortress. He inked himself a path to follow.

* * *

Hum looked at an old photo in her parents' bedroom. An old, gray photo depicting a group relevant in Inkling history. The Squidbeak Splatoon of legend.

On the left of the image was the leader, Cuttlefish, and Ammoses Shellendorf. What she took note of, however, were the two individuals on the right of the image. One male and female Inkling, they had not achieved the fame that the two on the left had, but they had a special meaning to Hum.

 _Grandpa and Grandma._ Hum smiled softly. Her grandparents may not have achieved the recognition that their colleagues did, but they were still an important part of Inkling history. She remembered how she was dazzled when she learned that her grandparents were a big part of the reason why she and the rest of her family could live easy and comfortable lives. Lum was even more intrigued then her when he learned about it.

The Great Turf War between the Inklings and the Octarians. As the history books told it, it was very different from the mostly consequence free Turf Wars of the modern day. Rather than be a pastime for the participants, it was a fierce battle for territory between two species that had once been cordial with each other. At the end, the Inklings won and the Octarians fled.

As she looked at the picture, she silently hoped that she and Lum would someday know even a fraction of the courage that their grandparents must have had.

* * *

The Octarians inside the octo-fort were tightly organized into guard patrols. Their apparent routes allowed them to constantly thoroughly check all areas of the fort. In one small corner, Lum waited in a small patch of his yellow ink that nobody seemed to be noticing. Had he a proper mouth in his squid form, he would have grinned.

Sneaking was a futile measure here, and it wasn't exactly his style either. Lum allowed himself to go completely on the offensive. He opened up with a few seemingly anonymous Seekers, then let loose all of his skill. It didn't take long before the Octarians realized that they had an intruder in the fort. They surged in oppressively large waves. Some Inkling would have fled screaming at the sight, but Lum met the charge with all his might.

The first waves met his charge. Twintacles led the Octarian vanguard. Many of them were splatted before they could even fire. Those that did manage to fire were lucky to even finish their first round of inkfire.

One fat, bird-like Octarian spat out a bomb. Lum simply ran under the falling bomb and inked the Octarian from beneath. The Octarian exploded, the yellow ink that came from him did in a few Octarians who were standing too close.

Lum was already turning, a unit of three Octotroopers was coming. They shot blobs of octo ink, Lum nimbly dodged before throwing a Splat Bomb. The unit broke their formation and tried to flee, two of them didn't escape the inky explosion. The third swiftly erupted after Lum shot him.

He suddenly inked a random patch of the ground. A charging Octoball and Twintacle didn't react fast enough and fell into the paralyzing yellow ink. They tried to flee, but were both splatted by Lum before they could escape.

"Yes! Get 'em, Agent 3!" Agent 1 cheered. She always thought it was so cool to watch this. Agent 3 did with ease what no one else in the team could even dream of doing. Watching him in action was almost a pastime for Agents 1 and 2. Cuttlefish certainly enjoyed expressing his fondness of the sight as well.

The Octarians came in more formations. Each fell one after the other. Agent 3 was far too formidable for them to take head on, and whatever strategy the master of the fortress wanted them to use was clearly lackluster.

Cuttlefish suddenly shouted a warning. A squadron of five Octolings were launching a pincer attack. Two coming from his left, three from the right. Lum sent a Seeker out at the group of two, who both retreated in fear of the Seeker targeting them. Turning to the remaining three, those three Octolings stopped in their tracks when they realized the situation wasn't as advantageous as it seemed earlier. Lum grinned and charged at them.

* * *

At the top, the Octoling in charge of the base was hearing a report of how the battle was going.

"Idiots! How hard can it be to deal with _one_ Inkling!? Stop him!"

A voice crackled back through the radio. "Stop him? What do you _think_ we've been trying to do? Offer him girl scout cookies?!"

A sudden sound of an inky explosion came through the radio, and then came the speaker's shaky words. "Oh... um, A-Agent 3, could I interest you in some cookies?"

Another inky explosion, and then the radio fell silent.

The Octoling growled and spun on her heel. She heard the stories about this boy, but never expected anything like this. While she did believe this boy had taken down entire troops of Octolings, bested ambushes, and defeated the Great Octoweapons, she thought the stories were at least _somewhat_ exaggerated. Now she found that the stories didn't give Agent 3 enough credit.

Seated on the floor, behind her gag Agent 2 made a muffled laugh. The Octarians might have been a force that could have caused some trouble, but any threat they represent comes to an end the moment Agent 3 enters the picture.

Agent 2 suddenly had an Octoshot thrust in her face. The Octoling snarled. "I _won't_ be laughed at by a prisoner. Your little champion is going to be splatted once and for all today."

For a second, it almost looked like the rage of the moment might result in a pulled trigger. Agent 2 uncomfortably leaned away, prompting a smirk from the Octoling.

"Good." She raised her weapon with a condescending tone. "Now if only more Inklings would know to not try to have an attitude with-"

The door suddenly opened and Agent 3 ran in. Upon seeing her adversary, the Octoling immediately pointed her weapon back at Agent 2's head. Yes, yes, this was the plan her superior told her to put into action. Threaten the hostage, and make Agent 3 surrender.

"Watch it, boy. Cooperate with me if you'd rather this girl not become stain on-"

"Hold that thought." Lum released a Seeker, the Octoling instinctively jumped over it, letting it explode on the wall behind her. Landing back down, she swept her vision across the area around her, but the boy had vanished. Agent 2's facial expression shifted into a look of confidence.

Behind her goggles, the Octoling squinted, making a panicked scan of the room. She swung her weapon around, ready to fire at even the slightest movement. Where had the boy gone? He wouldn't leave, not with an ally of his an Octarian prisoner. So where...?

 _The trail that Seeker left!_ Her realization came too late. Lum emerged from his ink, right beside the Octoling. Before the Octoling even had the chance to look shocked, Lum shot her square in the face. She tumbled back and crashed into the wall before exploding in ink.

The master of the fortress had fallen. That should be the end of the day's biggest challenge.

Lum turned to his comrade. "You okay, Agent 2?" Lum asked as he took the gag off of her. With both the gag and her little mouth mask, she must have been smothering.

"Good enough." Agent 2 responded as Lum untied her and helped her up. "I can't say I cared much for being the Octarian's houseguest."

They may have conversed for a second longer, but a massive squadron of Octarians suddenly flooded into the room. Twintacles, Octobombers, and Octolings formed a massive wall of enemies, all with the focused intent of preventing the two Inklings from escaping.

Such an intimidating force, but Lum seemed unimpressed at the challenge. "Please stand back, Agent 2." He rubbed his Hero Shot for a moment. "This should only take a minute."

* * *

"You're back!" Agent 1 shouted with joy at seeing Agents 3 and 2 return. Lum smirked, all his time Turf Warring was pretty much practice for his secret life. If only the people in his regular life knew what he was doing, but Cuttlefish had told him to keep this all secret.

"Thanks to Agent 3." Agent 2 said, moving toward him and putting her elbow on his shoulder. Her ally's fight with that last mini-army of Octarians still a fresh memory in her mind. "He's so cool when he's fighting like that."

Lum gave a nervous chuckle. His fellow agents endlessly complimented his skill in his days in Octo Valley, to the point that it sometimes got embarrassing. Hum was a supportive sister, but she didn't go on about his talent nearly as much as these two did.

"We got out of that one safe and sound." Cuttlefish said. He sighed with deep relief, he didn't have to lose a grandsquid of his today. "You remind me of some old friends from the Great Turf War, bucko."

Lum wasn't sure how to respond to that comment. So, he changed the subject. Specifically, to the reason Agent 2 got captured in the first place. "Um... what exactly was that scouting mission about?"

Cuttlefish pulled on his cuttles with his free hand, then looked away to his maps tacked onto his shed. "Those Octo-jerks became disorganized when we defeated Octavio. However, I can tell that a storm's brewing. I sent Agent 1 and 2 to scout a place I thought was safe, but I guess there were already Octarians there."

Lum crossed his arms. 'A storm's brewing'? Well, if the Octarians were trying something, he was ready to match their plans move for move. He'd already experienced great success fighting them. If even Octavio couldn't defeat him, what else could the Octarians do?

"Should I head out and-"

"Come on, Agent 3." Agent 1 suddenly tugged his arm. "We're all safe, let's wait for another day to be serious again."

* * *

As Cuttlefish continued his watch of the Octarian movements, the three agents sat down together.

Lum had no friends in his regular life, his attempts to make friends always seemed to result in him finding poisonous individuals. However, here in his second, secret life, Lum believed he had found three true friends in Cuttlefish and his fellow agents.

Despite that, the memories of friendships that soured persisted. He had told them precious few facts about himself, he didn't want to risk that emotional pain again. He wondered if his friends noticed he was sometimes a bit defensive with them.

He also wasn't sure what they thought of him. They did fret for his safety at times, though. He fought for them, and they obviously cared for him. Perhaps that was a good enough relationship.

"Hey, Marie." Agent 1 whispered to Agent 2 while glancing at Agent 3, who was obviously thinking about something. "Think we can tell him?"

Agent 2 seemed to be in thought for a moment, then nodded. They both turned to Lum collectively. "Agent 3." It jolted him from his thoughts, he gave the girls his undivided attention. "Try not to be surprised, but your fellow agents are-

"The Squid Sisters?" Lum asked in a rather bored tone.

"Hah, no, we're actually the- _what_?" Agent 1, Callie, started to speak, then her mouth hung open when she realized what Lum said.

Marie looked just as shocked, but she managed to actually form words. "How did you figure it out?"

Lum shrugged. "Well, you two doing a Squid Sisters song and calling it 'our song' back when I was fighting Octavio was not the definition of subtle." As he had told Hum yesterday, he was a bit of a music illiterate, but he did know a few Squid Sisters songs at least.

Regaining her composure, Callie laughed a bit, then she and her cousin moved to sit down on Lum's opposite sides. "Okay, can you tell us your real name, Agent 3?"

He looked down for a second. "Well, it's no name that would impress you, but I'm Lum."

Marie tilted her head to the side, thinking a little. She didn't recognize the name. She then smiled at Lum. "You have a cute name."

Lum looked at Marie, then over at Callie. How many other people in Inkopolis could claim that they were friends with the Squid Sisters? For that matter, how many would have been jealous that he could enjoy such interaction with them on a regular basis? That he could be this physically close to them so frequently?

In his life as Agent 3, this wasn't the first time he had been in such close physical proximity to them. These moments led to this weird feeling. He supposed it was how true friends felt for each other, not that he would know. Did friends feel unusually warm around each other, find their words sometimes stuck to their throats, and feel like nothing was more important than their friends looking at them with approval?

Maybe Hum would understand what he was feeling. Provided he could actually remember to ask her one of these days.

Still, for now, he just enjoyed their company. Now that they all knew each other's names, he wondered what else he could dare to tell them.

* * *

"Your plan was a failure." One Octoling, seated on what could be described as a throne, slouched as she grumbled. Her fist pushed into her cheek. "What a waste your ambush was."

The room itself was moderately lit. Legions of Octarians were here, manning computers, or standing guard. Others rushed around on errands their superiors had given them. It was clear that this was an integral location to the remaining Octarians.

"As always, sister, you are wrong." Another Octoling, this one male, responded coolly. The boy stood almost motionless as his sister made an angry shift on her throne.

"Do not take that tone with me. We are not peers." The girl growled. Her brother only smirked. "Your trap caught the wrong Inkling. Then your intended prey rescued her. How did anything go as planned?"

The male Octoling turned away. "Oh, splatting Agent 3 was never my intention. At least, not for today. You know as well as I do that we can't engage him without a plan. But this plan, rather than splat him, was only ever intended to draw him out."

He snapped his fingers. Monitors lit up on the wall. Each displayed a recording of what went on inside the Octo-fort that Cuttlefish's agent had taken down almost single-handedly.

"I just wanted to see him in action. Our other recordings of him are dated now. I need new recordings for analysis."

His sister slouched a little further in her throne. "You and your need for 'analysis'."

"I'm a scientist, sweet sister. Analysis is something I do, yes." He looked at the monitors. His specially designed Octo-goggles extracting data from the recordings. He turned his head to the side to more monitors. The tiny movement supplied legions of new data on Agent 3's movement and combat style.

"We are the _New Octarian Army_ , as you saw fit to name us. We must know what we're up against if we wish to win. Or do you wish to be just another fool who challenged Agent 3 and exploded in that Inkling's ink?"

His sister grumbled under her breath. Behind her goggles, she tightly shut her eyes.

* * *

 **And that's chapter 2.**

 **The black and white photo Hum is looking at in his chapter would be the image in Secret Scroll 15 in Splatoon's single player. I head-canoned that the male and female Inkling on the right side of that picture are the grandparents of Agent 3/your player character well before I conceived my OCs or this overall story.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	3. School Days

**This chapter wasn't hard to write, but certain computer issues that resulted in massive computer slowdown, did complicate the writing process a bit. (Yay, trojan viruses.)**

 **I own OCs. Everything else is the property of Nintendo.**

* * *

The ringing sound of the school bell brought an end to any and all discussions the students were having. Many of them were already seated, but a few were still standing and suddenly scrambled to their seats.

As the ringing of the bell died down, a ruler was smacked on the teacher's desk.

"You are all to be in your seats by the time the bell _starts_ ringing." The teacher said in a low, threatening tone. "Everyone who was not, stay after class." He gave a look at a few specific students, making a silent announcement that he knew full well who hadn't been seated. There would be no weaseling out of a talk with the teacher.

Inkopolis School. Lum and Hum both pursued their educations here. Perhaps a little against their will, but it was where they got their education regardless. Lum was in one of the ground floor classrooms, along with most of the other fourteen year old Inklings. His sister, Hum, was in one of the classrooms on the third floor.

The teacher, after giving the evil eye to those who had not been properly seated at the designated time, moved on to his lecture. Lum's weakest subject, Math. He inwardly groaned at his desk, looking at his text book with feigned interest. Formulas, multiplication, division, why did he need to learn this, exactly? What was so wrong about just going through life with a calculator in his pocket?

Oh, yes, and the beloved 'find x' questions. Math needed to stop asking him to find its x, she wasn't coming back.

Through it all, he had to at least act like he was enjoying himself in the class. the teacher of his classroom just loved having students who clearly were having trouble demonstrate a problem to the class. Lum had suffered being put on the spot like that a few times over the past few days, he'd like to go back to not having the teacher call attention to the fact that he wasn't good at this.

On top of being a boring subject, the teacher spoke with the most uninteresting, monotonous tone of voice one could imagine. It served only to make the subject even more drawn out then it already was. Slowly and tediously, Math hour eventually crept along to its long desired conclusion.

Next up was Music. Lum strained his eyes, it was Hum who loved music. He was an illiterate on the subject. As he thought about his sister's fondness for music, he wondered how things were going in her classroom.

* * *

As unluck would have it, Hum shared a classroom with Pyrot.

The shallow-minded Inkling sat not far from her. He certainly looked like the model student, but Hum knew his true character. It was unfortunate that the student body and the faculty alike thought he was this well behaved gentleman.

Pyrot suddenly turned to Hum in the middle of class and winked at her. Hum felt her skin crawl at the gesture. She turned back to the teacher, who was continuing her Biology lecture.

Fortunately, while Hum did have to put up with Pyrot in school, Cranch was unschooled. One less thug for Hum to have to deal with here.

The Biology class today was about the Zapfish. Hum perked up a little as the subject became clear. Even sharing a classroom with Pyrot, looking at all the pictures and diagrams of the Zapfish in her textbook put her in a good mood again. Unfortunately, when your passionate about the subject you always feel that discussion on it ends sooner than it should. Biology class went by too quickly, the students had to close their Biology books and move on to the next subject while Hum was still daydreaming about spending time with a real Zapfish.

Next up was History. Hum was basically proficient at this subject, but this was really where Lum shined. Her brother loved History class, it was the _only_ class he liked. She did well in it, but had no real positive or negative feelings toward the subject. She liked to read about the Great Turf War, courtesy of her Squidbeak Splatoon grandparents, but outside of that...

* * *

Finally, the students were given a break. They all poured out of their classrooms, though they'd have to return in due time.

Lum stretched his arms in the hallway, enjoying the feeling of his muscles loosening. Spending too much time sitting in that chair always did it to him. How people with desk jobs put up with the constant sitting was beyond him.

The hallway was filled with other Inklings casually chatting, or readying themselves for their next class. A few had shifted to their squid form and were awkwardly flopping down the hallway, a cute little protest of the school's 'no shapeshifting during school hours' rule.

"Hey, pipsqueak." Lum blinked at the familiar nickname. He turned to Pyrot and narrowed his eyes.

Pyrot, considered by the faculty to be a model student. As he looked at Lum, he was flanked by three other students. Pyrot's little 'disciplinary committee', students who enforced the school's rules in places the teacher's weren't looking. That may have sounded fine on the surface, but it would be more accurate to call them bullies who hid behind a veil of authority.

"You need something, Pyrot?"

"Careful, Lum. You're talking to the law here." Pyrot smirked, that typical condescending look on his face. "With but a word from me, you'll be hauled to the Detention room. Who'd the teachers believe, me or you?"

Lum scowled and turned away. Pyrot grabbed his shoulder before he could try to leave.

"By the way, Lum, have you heard about the Squid Sisters contest?"

Lum turned back to Pyrot and tilted his head in curiosity. Pyrot grinned.

"No, of course not. Someone who tries to slink away like you would never keep track of a contest like that." Pyrot looked to a banner on a wall, advertising the 'Dinner with The Squid Sisters' contest. "Scratch coupons are being sold in Inkopolis, more get brought to the stores everyday. The winning coupon may not even be on the market yet, but one of them somewhere in the city holds the winning ticket. Two lucky Inklings will get to spend an evening with Callie and Marie themselves. And-"

Pyrot chuckled. "The winner is going to be me. I've the money to buy hundreds and hundreds of scratch tickets. The only real question is which other Inkling gets to join me." He looked over his shoulder, the group he led looked at him pleadingly. A nice little contest between them would decide who gets to be his second. He turned back to Lum.

"Enjoy going off to your house whenever stuff is happening, pipsqueak. You'll never be able to spend time with the Squid Sisters like I'll be able to."

Lum immediately thought of his secret life in Octo Valley, where Agent 1 and 2 had revealed themselves to him recently, and couldn't resist the urge to give a laugh.

"W... what did that laugh mean?" Pyrot took a threatening step forward. He had expected Lum to give an annoyed and mildly hurt look before walking off, a face Pyrot loved seeing on Lum. This reaction was completely unexpected.

"Oh, nothing, Pyrot." Lum turned away, still smiling. He apparently was the winner of this little exchange. "Gotta go."

* * *

Lum knew his sister was something of a loner. During this break from class she'd strive to find a place where no other student would likely be at. She'd also be at a place that wouldn't have a lot of noise in it. Heading upstairs to the third floor, just as he thought, Hum had stayed in her classroom while everyone else flooded out.

"Oh, Lum." She had initially cringed when she heard someone else enter, but then relaxed when she saw it was her brother. Lum took a seat in the desk next to the one Hum was sitting at.

The two began discussing various things. Their favored and disliked classes, how the school day was treating them, and their general thoughts regarding school. Lum did not like school, though he was generally well behaved. If it wasn't History class, he wasn't all that motivated of a student. Conversely, Hum liked learning, and loved Music class, and was a rather motivated student. She was very nearly a straight A student. Very nearly.

"Always get that one B grade every report card, Hum?"

Hum twisted her lips before settling into a frown. "The only reason you can remind me of that and live to tell about it is because you're family, Lum."

Lum laughed. Indeed, his sister let him get away with a lot with her, so he sometimes enjoyed testing how far he could go before Hum decided the line had been crossed. Hum glared at Lum for a moment, then her facial expression relaxed and she joined in his laugh.

"By the way, did you hear about the 'Dinner with The Squid Sisters' competition?"

Hum blinked, then leaned toward her brother, a sudden twinkle in her eyes. "D-dinner with Callie and Marie?"

Lum slowly explained everything he had learned about the competition. He kept any mention of Pyrot out of it, though. Hum got angry at the mere mention of him. As he continued his explanation, Hum's entire face lit up.

While she was a loner, Hum was also a gigantic fan of the Squid Sisters. She herself didn't have much talent when it came to vocals, and she respected the talent of the Squid Sisters. One of her aspirations was for her violin skills to someday be the music behind the Squid Sisters' singing, even if for just one music video of theirs.

"Scratch tickets, huh?" Hum grumbled. "You might have to start doing more Turf Wars for money. I really, _really_ want to win this contest."

Lum gave his sister a look, then raised his hands to his eyes to mock cry over her exploitation of him. Hum just rolled her eyes at her brother.

* * *

Eventually the break from class was over, and then, before long, the entire school day had ended. Now the students were collecting their things in preparation for leaving. Lum was gathering his own things at his locker. Seeing it from across the hallway, Pyrot smirked and began to approach the boy.

He wanted to enjoy a comeuppance on Lum after his earlier attempt at heckling resulted in that unexpected laugh. And Pyrot could get away with tormenting Lum. The faculty would almost always believe what he said. He'd mess with Lum, then tell one of the teacher's that Lum had been the one harassing him as he was trying to leave. Lum would have to stay at school for an additional hour or two in Detention. Pyrot had almost reached Lum...

Suddenly the locker he was passing opened, and a bright sheet of fabric burst out. Pyrot yelped as it fell over him, then began kicking and struggling to get it off of him. Eventually he shifted to his squid form to try and escape, and simply vanished under the fabric.

Lum had finished gathering his things, and was now just looked at this sight quizzically. Pyrot had gotten into a fight with a bed sheet, and seemed to be losing the epic struggle. The more he fought, the more tangled up he got. Lum raised his vision as Hum and a teacher walked up.

"Pyrot!" The teacher shouted. Pyrot made a shocked return to his humanoid form, and gixed his attention to the teacher. "You can't play in the hall like this. That's not appropriate for..." He trailed off as he looked closer at the sheet, and recognized what it was. "Pyrot! That's a sheet for the school play! What is it doing in this hallway? And _why_ are you getting your dirty footprints all over it?"

Pyrot stammered for words. At this point he was so tangled he'd probably need help to get the sheet off of him. The whole situation had happened so fast he didn't really have an explanation himself. Suddenly he turned his head to Hum, who gave a knowing grin. Immediately he thrust a finger at the girl. "H-Hum! She's the one who-"

" _Hum_... did not do anything." The teacher interrupted. "She was the one who told me someone was tearing up school property." He nodded to the girl. "The 'prank queen' has become an even greater model student then you in the last two years. I can't easily forgive a false accusation."

Hum tilted her head and gave an innocent smile. One could imagine a little halo suddenly appearing above her head.

The teacher grabbed Pyrot's arm and hauled him to his feet before dragging him away, the fabric dragging behind him. "Let's discuss you pinning blame on others in the detention room."

As they went away, Hum approached her brother. "Hope they didn't mind me 'borrowing' that sheet. Not that I'd feel bad if they do, Pyrot deserved it for trying to harass you again. Such a shame that he's just a _little_ too easy to predict." Lum grinned, Hum's plan had gone perfectly.

That teacher had called Hum the 'prank queen'. She had been something of a delinquent at this school in earlier years, but mellowed out later on. While believed to be a model student now, the faculty still hadn't noticed that those who harassed her brother, or harassed her, had a tendency to fall prey to curious little 'accidents'.

She used to do stuff like this indiscriminately. She actually came dangerously close to being expelled for it, but eventually cleaned up her act and got on the faculty's good side. Now she did it only to people that she felt deserved it, and also made it far less obvious who was actually behind the pranks. At the very least, Lum felt a little protected at school thanks to his sister.

"Let's get on home, Lum. After all, we have homework to do."

* * *

"Great, more math." Lum sighed at his desk in his room. His sister was with him as his study-buddy. "Hey, Hum, do my homework for me? Maybe the extra work will help you actually be a straight A student next report card."

Hum shot her brother a hostile glance, he just laughed. She looked back at her own work, then sighed. "Lum, why not you and I go to the plaza for a bit? We can wait until it's dark to do this."

Lum perked up. "Yes!" He pumped both of his fists. "Some Turf Wars is just the thing after a day of school."

Hum smiled. Of course, part of the reason she made the suggestion was to start making some money to buy those scratch coupons. But since it was putting both of them in a better mode, might as well do it. "Alright, let's go."

They both left the room. Not ten seconds later they both charged back into Lum's bedroom, shaking in fear.

"M-man." Lum wiped his brow, leaning back onto the shut door. "Nobody gives the evil eye like dad does. Guess it's homework before anything else."

Hum gulped hard, then gave a shaky breath. "D-did you see how his veins throbbed?"

* * *

 **This overall series can be split into three kinds of stories. Turf War related stories, Octo Valley related stories, and school life related stories. Now I've finished introducing all three kinds of stories, so expect the storytelling to pick up a bit from here.**

 **I hope you enjoyed.**


	4. Octarian Strategist

**I own OCs, everything else is credit to Nintendo.**

* * *

Deep in Octarian territory, plots were slowly crafted to return their species to power.

The monitors were lit up with footage of Agent 3's feats. Every turn, every trick, every shot he made in the last incident was all perfectly recorded.

"His reflexes are superb." The scientific minded male Octoling muttered as he watched. He adjusted his goggles briefly, letting them capture data in a slightly different manner. "And at first glance he seems to operate on blind aggression, but in actuality he's surprisingly calculating in how he approaches the situations that unfold before him. I can't think of any Octarian who could face him in a straight fight without a plan."

Seated on her throne, the boy's sister shook her head. "I'm getting sick of the same footage being played on the monitors over and over again whenever you're here. It makes me prefer it when you lock yourself in your lab."

He chuckled. His sibling knew nothing of patience, she would have personally challenged Agent 3 if he hadn't cautioned otherwise. "If anything, his skills are even more refined then they were when he defeated our old leader. And while he has grown, we are weakened and fractured."

His sister rested her cheek against a fist. Fractured they were. Without Zapfish power, they had limited ability to communicate long distance. Her brother had developed a crude radio system that didn't run off of electricity, but it was a poor replacement at best. Beyond that, they made do with some residual energy from the Zapfish, but that wouldn't last forever. The Octarians were now heavily disorganized, their various branches were starting to become independent powers in all but name.

The boy rubbed his chin in thought. "Without the Zapfish, our civilization is destined to crumble. It's all I can do to keep our military basically functional. As for the common Octarians-"

"The common folk can have what _I_ say they can have." His sister cut him off. "And since when were you invested in the needs of the common folk?"

He smirked. "I'm not. I was simply thinking. At the very least, we should want our species largely unified under us. So we have to at least pretend that we care about the needs of the little octopus every once in a while."

She looked ready to make a response, but then a voice interjected.

"My masters." The two siblings turned to see a Twintacle approaching them. He looked the same as any other such Octarian, minus the distinctive military hat he wore.

"Speak, Arvis." The male Octoling ordered.

Arvis bowed his head, his tentacles flopping onto the metal floor with the movement. "As you command, my prince." He turned to the female Octoling seated on the throne, the princess. "For my masters, I have many plans ready to deal with the Inkling captain who observes us, as well as his agents. As you wished, prince, I have studied the footage we captured of Agent 3, and I have a strategy ready to reduce him to an inky stain on the floor."

"Just remember, Arvis, we expect results." The princess' bored tone, however, seemed to imply that she was keeping her own expectations rather low. "Since you are a strategist, we want strategies that will work."

Arvis smiled confidently, turning to the monitors. "Fear not, my liege. For a ruler as worthy as you, there will only be success. The next time we encounter Agent 3, I shall prove that, if Octavio had but listened to my advice, we would still have every single Zapfish."

* * *

Hum had her eyes closed as she moved the bow across the strings of her violin. Soft music was birthed by the movement. Here in her room, she began her rehearsals.

Music was her passion, and she was learning how to make it herself. While a loner, she nurtured the desire to share her music with the rest of the world. Though not quite yet, she wasn't good enough to do this publically yet. For now, the only squids who had heard her music had been mom, dad, and Lum.

Lum himself tended to be rather snarky about Hum's violin playing, he had inherited dad's musical tastes, as well as a few of dad's other character traits. Meanwhile, Hum was practically a little clone of their mother, including the loner habits. Mom had forced dad to jump through some hoops in his attempts to court her more than two decades back.

Well, his exact wording was 'forced to do a spinning backflip through flaming hoops whilst being almost dead from exhaustion'. Mom had then lightly bonked him on the head for the statement. Hum had a funny family, but also a family she loved to pieces.

Hum's violin skills were improving, she assumed. Lum was getting less prone to commenting on moments where the music suddenly became 'funny'. Which at least meant that she was bungling the notes less then she used to.

Eventually she completed the song, messing up precious few notes. She sat down on the edge of her bed, and traced her fingers across the suction cups in her hair. A little habit of hers that she tended to do when she had nothing else in particular to do. She occasionally enjoyed also tracing a loving finger across the suction cups in Lum's hair, even though he _hated_ it when she did that.

In the near future she'd like to play the violin for Lum again. She knew she'd be ready for an audition of some sort once she can complete a song without Lum making a sarcastic comment at any point during the melody.

She stroked her chin in thought before laying down on the bed, wondering what to do with the rest of her day.

* * *

"Maybe he's not coming today." Cranch tapped a finger to his cheek as he sat cross-legged. He and Pyrot had been ready at the tower in the plaza for Lum to show up. After their interactions with Lum had soured, they had been defeated in every Turf War where they went up against him. It had quickly become something that had gotten under the skin of both of them.

While waiting, they had killed time with a few Turf Wars earlier, and had generally won their matches. Yet while that did somewhat soothe damaged egos, they both desired the vindication of triumphing over Lum.

Cranch's sight drifted skyward to the Great Zapfish. The mammoth fish tilted its head slightly in response to Cranch looking at it. Slightly unsettled, he turned his attention to the concrete he was sitting on.

"Don't tell me he chickened out." Pyrot grumbled, then he suddenly laughed. "He did, didn't he? That last match against him was so close, he probably knows his lucky streak won't last much longer against me."

Cranch twisted his lips in annoyance at the constant waiting. Maybe he should have faked friendship with Lum for longer, he missed almost always winning. An emotional sucker as skilled as Lum didn't come along everyday.

Turning his head, his eyes widened as he saw what he was sure was Lum, holding a strange sack. He suddenly stood up... only for the Inkling he was seeing suddenly dart to the side. Cranch sighed. Probably not Lum.

* * *

Cap'n Cuttlefish examined his maps, taking note of Octarian strongholds. After the last ambush he was working to update his information regarding Octarian presence in the valley. His first and second agents were also with him, doing their part to ensure that there wouldn't be a repeat of the recent kidnapping.

The Octarians seemed to be up to something, even though they were more disorganized than ever before. Perhaps they had found new leadership? Yet no matter what plans they had, Cuttlefish and his agents would continue to act as the last line of defense between the Octarians and Inkopolis.

"Hey, Agent 2, what do you think of Lum?" The first agent suddenly queried in the middle of the map studying.

Agent 2 turned her head from the maps and thought for a moment. "He did save me last time we were in Octo Valley, I kind of have to like him. And he's our friend now."

Agent 1 nodded with a grin. "I'm sure he knows us very well, considering who we really are, but we don't know much about him. Let's quiz him the next time we have a free moment with him."

Cuttlefish took the time to nibble on one of his crabby cakes, when his radar suddenly came to life. It was so sudden he nearly dropped his food. At that exact moment, Lum landed, offering a final sudden shock that resulted in the cake landing on the filthy ground.

"My... crabby cakes!" Cuttlefish exclaimed, looking down at his ruined food, now covered in dirt.

"Er, sorry, captain." Lum said quietly. "I just thought today was a good day to come down here."

Cuttlefish's radar beeped again. "Maybe it was, thar be something being detected today."

The radar was giving an alert that something had been detected. Agents 1 and 2 went to the radar and turned off the alarm, but then their expressions turned serious as they continued looking at the radar. Taking a step forward and examining it himself, Lum raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, that's a Zapfish signal. I'm pretty sure that every Zapfish was rescued after the battle with Octavio."

Cuttlefish brushed his cuttles. "I'm sure we got them all, or did I do the math wrong?"

"No, no, we did get all of them." Agent 2 spoke up. "Every Zapfish was accounted for. The Octarians shouldn't have any more of the little guys."

"But the radar detected another Zapfish." Lum said, he paused in thought. "Could the Octarians have found a spare?"

His previous adventure was centered almost entirely on the Zapfish. Inkopolis would have lost all power eventually if he hadn't methodically rescued them all. He was a natural at finding and rescuing Zapfish after all that, for all the Octarian's attempts to defend the Zapfish they stole. Today's mission would be a cinch.

Examining the radar again, he could see where the signal was coming from. "Okay, that should be an easy enough solo mission."

"Lu-Agent 3." Agent 1 spoke up. Lum turned to her. "Er, please be careful. Agent 2 and I want to have a talk with you when your mission is over."

He shrugged. "I'm plenty careful, you don't need to caution me."

"Hey, we're friends now, and I always want you to come back safely from your missions."

Lum tilted his head to the side in curiosity. He wasn't used to anyone besides Hum spending too much time worrying for him. After a moment, Agent 2 nudged him, bringing him back to the moment, he immediately turned and headed off to his mission.

* * *

Lum arrived at his destination. What he saw was nothing like what he expected.

The Octarians always kept the Zapfish under tight guard in their territory, and spared no expense in the defense. Here, he didn't even see any sign of any Octarians. No guards, no patrols, not even a proper base. All he did see was a large pit into the ground.

The first thought that came to him at this sight was that Cuttlefish's radar had found a Zapfish in the wild. In that case, it was good that they found it before the Octarians. At least it seemed today's mission would be a simple one.

He thought for a moment. If it was a Zapfish in the wild, would he have a reason to keep it away from the Octarians? The primary reason he had fought the Octarians in the past was because they had taken Zapfish that belonged to the Inklings.

He dismissed the thought immediately. In the last conflict, the Octarians had used the Zapfish exclusively to power military technology. They used Zapfish for the Great Octoweapons, the UFOs the Octostrikers reclined in, and all those military fortresses. The Octarians took Zapfish because they seemed to have war on their minds, they wanted vindication for their defeat in the Great Turf War. No, they couldn't allow the Octarians to hold onto even a single Zapfish.

Standing on the edge of the pit, he peered down. At first all he saw was darkness, but at the very bottom, something yellow could be vaguely seen. It had to have been a Zapfish, sparking with electricity that let it be seen all the way down at the pit's bottom.

He was about to report this, when sounds of nausea came over his radio. Lum thought that heights were thrilling, but his fellow agents were much less capable of handling such tall vantage points. He gave a small laugh, then jumped into the pit without hesitation.

As he fell, the other three members of his team all made a panicked cry, but calmed down when he landed safely at the bottom.

"Agent 3!" Agent 2 hyperventilated momentarily. "Do _not_ scare us like that again!"

Lum shrugged. "I didn't see any other way to get down here." He took a step forward. "Anyway, this was a pretty simple mission to-"

He suddenly cut off. The yellow thing he had seen from the edge of the pit was clearly not a Zapfish. Instead, what was on the floor of the pit was a curious yellow piece of metal giving off a glow. Confused, he knelt down to look closer at it.

"Um, Cap'n Cuttlefish, is this-"

"It's definitely what's giving off the Zapfish signal, bucko. But that's clearly not a Zapfish." He looked at his visual of the strange metal. "It actually looks like something the Octarians would make, and..." He paused in thought, then suddenly jolted with a realization. "Agent 3! Octo-jerk ambush!"

The millisecond after he gave the warning, Octolings suddenly appeared, emerging from insignificantly small patches of Octarian ink in the corners of the pit. They surrounded Lum with guns drawn.

They opened fire immediately, their Octarian ink spraying toward Lum from all directions around him. He shifted to squid form and slipped under the fire, then returned to humanoid form and ran then turned around and pressed his back to a wall. In this cramped situation, he couldn't afford to let himself be surrounded again.

He released a Seeker, followed by a Splat Bomb. The attacks struck no enemies, but his objective was simply to alter their formation. The Octolings scattered to the left and right, he began trying to attack them aggressively.

These Octolings seemed moderately skilled, and their movements were purposeful. They were clearly acting in compliance to some sort of plan. As he wondered if there was a bigger strategy at work, a shadow began to cover the already poorly lit bottom of the pit.

Looking up, he could see an Octostriker's UFO hovering above the pit. From the angle he couldn't see the giant, bird-like Octarian that was on the UFO, but he knew it was there when he saw the missile of the Inkstrike.

"Agent 3!" Agent 1 screamed over the radio. "Get out of there _now_!" Yet in his situation there was little he could do. His first instinct would have been to super jump, but if he tried that the Octolings would splat him before he could get off the ground. He didn't have the time to ink the walls and swim up them, and if he did nothing, he was guaranteed to be splatted. The pit was so cramped that there would be no safe place from the Inkstrike once the missile hit.

As the missile descended, almost in slow motion from Lum's perspective, he realized there was only one possible way he was going to survive.

The missile landed, the inky tornado erupted into the sky. Back at Cuttlefish's camp, Cuttlefish and his grandsquids could only stare in disbelief at the sight.

"Our... our friend..." Agent 2 mumbled. Lum had been lost in the attack, right when they were just getting to know him.

In the pit, the Octolings collectively smiled as the Octarian ink, harmless to them, swirled violently, licking at every nook and cranny of the pit. Their mission had been accomplished, Arvis' plan had worked perfectly. Create a false Zapfish signal to lure Agent 3 to a cramped, disadvantageous position, then splat him with an Inkstrike when he had no place to go. The Octolings were here as insurance, to distract him on the off-chance that he might come up with some plan to survive. The success of this mission was a great victory for the Octarians.

Or it _would_ have been.

As the Inkstrike died down, Lum's Hero Shot was suddenly thrust into the face of one of the Octolings. Around Lum's body was a distinctive yellow barrier.

He breathed hard. "Looks like the Bubbler did the trick." He smiled confidentially, then fired, splatting the first Octoling. He capitalized on the moment, splatting the entire unit of enemies before they could overcome their shock at their enemy's survival.

Once that was done, he shifted to squid form and super jumped straight into the air.

His team's eyes widened in joy. The Octostriker's eyes widened in horror.

With a few shots, the giant Octarian erupted in yellow Inkling ink. Over the radio he heard mixed sounds of relief and cheers for his triumph. He sighed and sat down on the UFO, such a simple mission had become an incredibly close call.

He looked over his shoulder at where the Octostriker had been in the UFO. Unlike the others, this one didn't have a Zapfish powering it. One had to wonder how this one was flying.

* * *

"I _had_ him!" Arvis roared in indignation as Agent 3 splatted the Octostriker, the Inklings victory captured spectacularly on the monitor.

He continued raging. "He should have been gone! A mere unsightly stain on the floor of that pit! This is not my fault! My genius strategies are _not_ at fault! How can I be expected to make working plans, if I'm given with such inferior resources!? I-"

His tantrum was interrupted by the sound of a boot stomping on the ground. He spun around as the princess clenched at the armrests of her throne so tightly the metal was strained.

"'Given such inferior resources', Arvis? Are you implying that the fault for this outcome lies with _me_? Or with the Zapfish signal maker my brother made for you?"

His rage immediately melted into fear. "N-no, my princess! No, no, no!" He quivered at the mere thought of the princess' wrath. "No one c-could ever fault you two for anything! The failure is mine alone. I shall redeem myself next time."

The princess leaned back, still angry, but slightly soothed by the amusing sight of Arvis' panic. She turned away, Arvis continued to shake with fear. Standing nearby, the prince's lips curled into a smile.

"Oh, Arvis, you don't know how much of a close call you just had. I trust you remember what happens to the Octarians who made my sister rise from her throne?"

Arvis swallowed hard. "I... forgot myself for a moment, my masters. It won't happen again. My next plan will succeed, I promise you."

The princess sighed, letting a bit more anger seep out harmlessly. However, there was a bite to her next words. "Arvis, my patience is not unlimited. Create plans that will defeat the Inklings and make us the dominant power. If you can't do that, then we'll see how well you respond to getting dunked in Inkling ink."

Arvis shuddered in the threat, then bowed his head, carefully maintaining his composure. "As you command, my liege." He smiled as he bowed, his ambitions burning deep within. _Although, you may be surprised by who is sitting in that throne when we finally attain our victory._

* * *

"Something that can fake a Zapfish signal." Cuttlefish thought aloud. "That's even more interesting then the Octarian's see-through technology."

Agent 2's forehead creased in annoyance. "Gramps, that's not important. We nearly lost Agent 3 today." She grabbed her friend's shoulder in a manner that seemed almost protective.

Lum rubbed his chin in thought. "An ambush to capture Agent 2, and now machinery that can give a decoy signal." He raised his head. "The Octarians might be getting ready for something."

"Never mind that, Agent 3." Agent 1 insisted. "I'm just glad we didn't lose our friend today." She tugged him away. "Come on, we want to talk to you."

Moving away from Cuttlefish, was time with his fellow agents after a mission now a tradition? Agents 1 and 2 freely dropping their agent personas, Callie and Marie began to speak casually with Lum. At first it was just the two moderately fretting for his safety, but the conversation slowly shifted to more casual matters. Eventually, they began asking Lum about his family.

"Oh? You have a sister, Lum?" Callie asked, her eyes open with curiosity.

He nodded. "Hum. Two years older than me, and a bit protective in both regular life and school days. If she only knew how I protect _her_ and the rest of Inkopolis every time I'm down here."

The Squid Sisters both smiled.

"She's actually a big fan of you two. She's desperate to win that 'dinner' contest and meet you."

Marie looked past Lum to meet eyes with Callie. The two seemed to have an unspoken conversation before she re-focused on Lum. "Funny, I think we'd be interested in meeting her as well."

"Of course, she'll be pressuring me to do Turf Wars to make money to buy those scratch tickets." Lum rolled his eyes, his two friends began laughing.

Lum suddenly thought of Pyrot, who had his own plans of winning the contest. He was certain it wouldn't even take three seconds for him to rub Callie and Marie the wrong way, and make the contest an utter disaster. Perhaps he should buy plenty of scratch tickets himself, just to help ensure that they didn't have to put up with him. It might be even worse if Cranch ended up winning.

"Actually." Lum smiled as he began speaking again. "I just remembered, Hum typically isn't a big fan of other girls being around me." He gave a small laugh as he pointed out the gender of his two friends.

Callie scooted a little closer to Lum. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and we want to be able to spend a lot more time with you in the future, Lum."

"What else can you tell us about yourself?" Marie queried. "We want to know all we can about our new friend."

He smiled, feeling completely comfortable talking to these two. "Well, let me tell you about my history in Turf Wars..."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	5. Tempers

**Disclaimer: I own OCs. Everything else is credit to Nintendo.**

* * *

Hum surveyed the daily selection at Cooler Heads. A collection of baseball hats, a few sets of headphones, and a ridiculously out of place gas mask.

Cooler Heads was the de facto place to buy headgear in the plaza. Before heading to the tower, Lum and Hum had decided to swing by each store briefly, this was their last stop before Lum would start his Turf Wars.

The shopkeeper, a little anemone named Annie, cautiously brought her hands together as the Inkling siblings debated whether or not they should make a purchase today. Annie was normally a reserved girl who was prone to worrying, but there was extra reason to be nervous when these two entered. There was always a loud incident whenever Hum came around.

A small clownfish bounced on Annie's head, keeping watch on both of the Inklings, but favoring keeping his eye on Hum as she tried on one hat. Hum found it a snug fit for her head, but she frowned as she adjusted her glasses to get a better look at herself in the mirror.

"Hey, Annie." Hum began, not turning from the mirror. "Do you have this hat in a different color? This doesn't match my yellow hair."

Annie swallowed, feeling that a bomb was about to go off. "W-well, in tomorrow's selection we may have, different hats and-"

" _Whiner_!" The clownfish on Annie's head suddenly shouted. Annie reflexively backed up. Hum was startled by the sudden loud noise, then locked her eyes onto the clownfish.

"Did I _ask_ for your opinion, Moe?" Hum demanded in a threatening whisper.

Moe continued bouncing in Annie's hair. " _Who cares about color_?!"

Hum gritted her teeth. She took an intimidating step forward as Moe continued shouting taunts. Annie cowered at what was about to happen, and then Lum grabbed his sister.

"Alright, Hum, you-" He trailed off as he began trying to pull Hum back. "You lose your temper too easily with him."

Hum grunted. Lum was trying to drag his sister away, but she was fighting tooth and nail to keep herself bolted to the spot.

" _What's wrong? Aren't you going to teach me a lesson? Come on_!" Moe continued mocking whilst Annie shivered in fear. Lum was busy trying to pry his sister from the spot she was standing at, but Hum was being defiant.

"This is why you should be thankful when I'm here, Annie." Lum grit his teeth, slowly pulling his sister away millimeter by methodical millimeter. "At least you won't have to worry about these two having an eight hour session when I'm around."

Hum struggled against her brother. "Let go of me, Lum! I'm going to _flay_ that little runt!"

Ignoring his sisters protests, Lum slowly but surely dragged her out of Cooler Heads. Annie let out a sigh of relief as they left, shakily walking away. Atop Annie's head, Moe beamed at what he saw as his victory. Then he turned his head to look at where all the daily headgear was supposed to be. The hat that Hum was trying on wasn't there.

" _Hey_!" Moe screamed indignantly. " _You have to pay for that_!"

* * *

The door to Cooler Heads flung open and Hum was suddenly ejected from the building, landing hard on the concrete outside.

She groaned as she stood up. "Don't shove me, Lum. You could have broken my glasses."

Lum breathed hard as he exited the building, his sister knew how to put up a fight. "I didn't see any other way to make you take those final steps." He adjusted his own glasses, which had nearly fallen off in the struggle. "What's it with you and Moe, anyway? You last longer before losing your temper with Pyrot."

"He's gotten away with comments like that too much. You remember when he called me a 'fatso' and insulted my figure?"

Lum thought for a moment, then broke into a grin, Hum sighed. "Oh, yes, of _course_ you remember. You thought it was hilarious he said that, Captain Supportive." She dusted herself off. "If you were anyone else, I'd punch you. Be glad I can put up with the family's nonsense."

"Oh yes, of course. I'm _so_ grateful to you and your endless wellspring of patience, sister."

Hum's eye twitched. "Do you... want me to be the one who cooks your next meal?"

"Er... I-I mean, the next time Moe insults you, I've got your back, Hum."

Hum's facial expression finally relaxed, amusement replacing the frustration. The situation had turned around with Lum taking that threat with the utmost seriousness. If Hum couldn't cook without creating a crime against the culinary world, she could at least use her cooking 'skills' for this. She straightened her hat... then raised her eyes to the sun visor and realized she still hadn't paid for it. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

"What are you two idiots doing?"

Lum and Hum both whirled to see that Cranch had approached them.

The tanned Inkling, just going on his normal routine around Inkopolis, had by chance happened upon the siblings in the plaza, and as usual, he didn't waste the opportunity to taunt them.

He placed on hand on his hip. "No, no, wait, let me guess. You're agreeing to be each other's prom date. I'm right, aren't I, the loner and the friendless sucker were meant to be together, right?"

Lum took a step back and looked away, Hum narrowed her eyes. "You _will_ watch how you talk to us."

Cranch just smirked, looking past Hum as if she wasn't there, looking at the one he really seemed to enjoy insulting. "Hey, Lum, you think you'll get anywhere in life hiding behind your sister? I'd say that-"

He cut off as Hum firmly grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"I'm the older sibling. It's only natural I look out for him. Not that you'd be able to understand that."

"Daaaw, isn't sibling love sweet?" Cranch mocked, though he shifted uncomfortably from Hum's grip. "If you weren't so concerned for the sucker, then maybe you and I could-"

Hum's eyes flashed in anger, but then a metallic sound was heard before she could do anything. Cranch turned to the sound's source, and the condescending look on his face melted away when he saw that Lum was pointing a Turf War weapon at him.

Not just any gun, it was Lum's favored weapon. The golden Aerospray RG. He tried out other weapons from time to time, but this one was his ultimate partner who had served him since almost the beginning of his Turf Warring.

"L-L-Lum..." Cranch began, taking a step back as Hum released him and moved to her brother's side. Cranch swallowed, then desperately pointed to a sign, picturing a gun with a line through the gun. "You c-can't take out a gun in the plaza, you're-"

"You _will_ leave my sister alone." Lum said, so quietly Cranch wasn't sure if he imagined it or not.

Hum put her hand on Lum's arm and gently put his gun arm down. She wouldn't let Lum fire, though only because she didn't want him to get in trouble with authority, she couldn't care less for Cranch's safety. She looked at Cranch. "Lum and I are going to the tower. Follow us only if you want to be humiliated in Turf Wars."

Not even ten minutes ago, Lum was dragging Hum away from a confrontation with Moe. Now Hum was dragging her brother away from his own encounter. Though he fought the tugging for less time.

As they left, Cranch gritted his teeth and looked around. "You're not allowed to pull out a gun in the plaza! Why aren't the cops ever around when _I'm_ the innocent one?" His eyes drifted skyward, to the tower with the Great Zapfish wrapped around it. He clenched his fist with determination. "But don't worry, Lum, if we meet in a Turf War today, I _will_ get even for this."

* * *

The matches started in Arowana Mall. Hum was staying indoors, behind the glass with the little jellyfish. Reclining in a chair with a little meal in front of her, she watched as the Turf Wars started.

Hum wasn't one to make very loud noise. She felt that her presence alone was cheering enough for Lum, and Lum had never asked her to try and shout her support.

He wasn't testing out any new weapons today. Instead, Lum was devastating the battlefield with his Aerospray. The weapon didn't have much range, but it did all it needed to in its range. Hum watched as Lum claimed turf faster than anyone else could, then he encountered an enemy.

"Oh, Lum, be a little nicer when your opponent is a girl. She doesn't-" Hum trailed off. "Okay, you splatted her before I could even finish that thought." Not that Lum could hear her anyway, the sound wouldn't get through the glass.

Lum suddenly inked the glass Hum was looking through, generating a moderately frightened jump from his sister. He gave his sister a teasing smile, then returned to the battle. Hum's face contorted in comical annoyance as she realized she had spilled some sauce onto her shirt.

The battles continued, Lum won nearly all of his battles. He lost a small number of them, sometimes someone on his team wasn't much of a team player, at other times his opponents were just too skilled while his allies weren't. Outcomes like that was just a risk you accepted when you primarily Turf Warred with strangers.

After every battle, Lum swung by Hum to drop his fight money on the table she was sitting at. Eventually, after one battle, Lum raised a concern.

"Why isn't the bag of money any bigger then it was after my first battle?"

Hum eyeballed the money bag that Lum had been putting his earnings into. "Um, m-maybe the bag holds more then you thought it did? It's... taking time to fill up?"

Lum looked at his sister. Was it his imagination, or did it look like she was nervous? Slowly, Lum started to walk away. "Whatever. I'll be doing one more game today."

As he walked off, Hum let out a relieved sigh, then looked awkwardly behind her. _Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He's going to figure it out what I'm doing by the end of the day._

* * *

Lum's final battle of the day began. He and his three companions emerged from their spawn point, each sharing the yellow color. On the opposite side of Arowana, their opponents emerged in blue ink. Hum nearly choked on a piece of meat when she recognized someone on the enemy team.

Cranch. He had followed them to the tower to compete. By some stroke of luck, he was going up against Lum. And unfortunately, the members of the blue team looked like skilled veterans, while the yellow team, aside from Lum, looked far less experienced.

Hum's hands clenched at the table she was sitting at. The odds were in Cranch's favor, and Hum didn't even want to consider the idea of him winning. "Lum... Lum you have to win this one!"

Cranch went out with his roller, inking the turf with his blue color. His movement was determined and purposeful. The way he moved in the battle also seemed... angry? Hum was lightly amused, Cranch wasn't letting go of the encounter in the plaza.

Cranch gritted his teeth, the entirety of his being focused on victory. Too long had been defeated by Lum in Turf Wars. That encounter in the plaza had been the last straw for him. He would achieve victory today!

The match continued, the turf was going back and forth, however the blue team seemed to have a distinct edge. Yet every time they tried to push their advantage, Lum was ready to break their momentum. Whether it was him popping out of that one uninked patch of yellow ink, or sending his opponents running away with a cunningly placed Inkmine, he ensured that no one could confidently predict the outcome.

As the last minute waned down, a blue sniper methodically took out yellow Inklings in the center of the map. So long as the sniper was watching the center area of the mall, the yellow team could not get the advantage. The sniper was doing her job well, but she never noticed Lum creeping up on her from behind. The sniper was splatted, and in a moment she'd respawn, undoubtedly with an expression of annoyance on her face.

Suddenly, Cranch emerged from the blue ink right beside Lum. He had predicted that Lum would go for his ally, and readied himself for an ambush. Now his roller was ready to splat his opponent.

Lum managed to dodge the fling of the roller's ink and jumped off the ledge. Cranch blindly followed him. Once they were both on the ground, Lum spun around and fired. Cranch, recognizing that he didn't have time to fling ink again, turned into a squid and dodged away.

After a moment, he returned to humanoid form and was immediately greeted with a beeping sound. He looked down, an Inkmine! When did Lum have the time to set it? He immediately fled as it exploded, lightly sprinkling his face with yellow ink. He turned to look at Lum, who had lost interest in his opponent and was instead claiming all the turf near the enemy base. Cranch was ready to attack him from behind...

A hail of ink suddenly fell on Cranch, courtesy of the rest of the yellow team. They had captured the middle point of Arowana Mall, thanks largely to Lum splatting the sniper that was watching it, and were pushing into the blue team's side of the map. Ultimately Cranch was splatted by one Inkling girl who seemed to be enjoying her first game ever.

At the end of it all, the yellow team achieved an 18% victory. Cranch's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he looked at the end result. He threw his roller on the ground, glared at Judd's flag, gritting his teeth before storming away.

 _Enjoy your last days of victory, Lum. Someday I_ will _tear you apart._

On the other side of the glass, Hum raised her voice in a rare shout at her brother's victory.

* * *

"I don't normally get that excited watching Turf Wars." Hum admitted as Lum returned to her. "Cranch was a bit more determined than usual, but I imagine that angry squids are easier to read."

Lum made a small laugh. "I never doubted myself." Hum stood out of her chair, and then something from behind her chair tumbled over.

Hum cringed. What she felt must not have been unlike how it felt to have four Chargers all going after you in a Turf War. Lum leaned to the side to investigate. What had fallen over was a mountain of...

"Scratch tickets?" Lum wondered aloud. Then he jolted with the realization and turned to his sister. "Scratch tickets? For that contest?"

Hum raised her hands in front of her in a defensive gesture. "N-now Lum, you should know better than to trust me with your money." She made a nervous chuckle, how many times had she spent Lum's Turf War money without his permission? Hadn't they long since established that he needed to keep his money under lock and key? But it was clear that Lum wasn't having a sense of humor about this.

"Come on, Lum, I bet you want to win the contest too. And just because all of these were duds doesn't mean it was a total waste. I mean, um... you had fun today in the Turf Wars, right? R-right?"

Lum narrowed his eyes. Hum took a few nervous steps back. "O-okay, Lum, I guess... you need some time to cool off, right? I'll just, be going now." Whirling on her foot, she bolted. It took only a few seconds for Lum to begin chasing after his sister.

* * *

Jolenzo was admiring his own shirts on sale. Before long, an Inkling would inevitably come in, hungry to purchase one of these fine shirts. The jellyfish straightened one of them with one of his tentacles, getting rid of a small crease that had formed in the fabric. It was quiet for the moment, but the silence was broken as the door suddenly opened and a girl charged in. Jolenzo turned to make a greeting, but...

"Hide me! Hide me! _Hide me_!" Hum ran right past the shopkeeper, shifted to squid form and oozed behind the displayed shirts.

Jolenzo watched this with curious eyes, then rubbed the section of his head that was roughly equivalent to where an Inkling's chin would be. "Am I wanting explanation for that?"

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	6. History

**Disclaimer: I own OCs. Everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

Lum's eyes started at the left, then slowly scanned to the right. Then back to the left, and to the right again.

Amongst school subjects, the only one he was really invested in was History. It was the only subject he was a straight A student in, in all other subjects he did merely passably. On top of his textbook for History class, he also spent money to buy other history texts. This one he was reading was dedicated to the Great Turf War.

Today he was sitting on the chair in front of his desk as he read the current text. A small pile of other historical stories had been placed on the desk. Most of them were recent prints, but a few of them were actually quite old looking. While some other tales of yesteryears was contained in them, it was mostly all dedicated to the Great Turf War. As Lum finished his reading in his current text, he put one book down for another that detailed the war.

Reading about this war was always interesting, and at the same time, odd. Lum was also fighting the Octarians, but on a much smaller scale then in the war of the past. The fact that he was fighting the Octarians at all was largely because of the result of the old war.

He averted his gaze from the book and looked at his closet. Tucked into a corner of his closet was the bag that he kept his Hero Suit in. No one in his family ever really checked the inside of his closet, and even if they did, he could probably come up with some improvised cover-story as to what the outfit was. Of course, it would have to be a cover story that gave his family reason to not throw the suit away.

The book he was reading detailed many battles of the Great Turf War in great detail. Early skirmishes, which were dominated by the Octarians, and later battles, where the Octarians nearly sealed their victory with their Great Octoweapons. It was only thanks to a certain mistake on the Octarians' part that the Octoweapons failed, and the Inklings managed a comeback.

Throughout the history of the war, the name 'Cuttlefish' continued to be mentioned. Captain Cuttlefish, and the Squidbeak Splatoon that he led, proved to be a crucial factor in the war ending in an Inkling victory. As Lum knew, both of his grandparents served in the Splatoon as well, though they weren't remembered like Cuttlefish was. History only vaguely alluded to them as two teammates who had always fought with the Captain.

Lum chuckled softly. It was almost funny to think about how distinct the Cuttlefish in the war was, compared to the Cuttlefish he knew. History recorded him as a firm, decisive, and no-nonsense leader, it was almost impossible to take the books seriously as they described Cuttlefish like that. Age did funny things to squids.

"What's so funny, Lum?" Hum asked, sitting on her brother's bed, not raising her eyes from her own book. While Lum was just reading recreationally, Hum was focused on schoolwork.

Lum looked deeply at his book. He couldn't tell her that he knew Cuttlefish personally, or anything that would remotely hint at his secret life.

"Just thinking about how easily we could have lost the Great Turf War." Lum answered, somewhat awkwardly. He thought about his time down in Octo Valley, and about how the Octarians were rallying to try and avenge their defeat in the war he was reading about. The thought provoked a question. "Do you hate them, Hum? The Octarians, I mean."

Hum looked up from her book and looked at her brother. The question seemed quite serious, and not the sort of thing Lum would pose.

"Well, they are our species' enemy. Our lives wouldn't be nearly as comfortable if they won the Great Turf War. I definitely don't like them."

"But history says we were friends with them before the Great Turf War." Lum said. As it was recorded, Inklings and Octarians were once cordial with each other, but as land vanished under the water, they began fighting over the territory that remained.

"We share land with the Jellyfish just fine, Lum. If the Octarians couldn't compromise with us, then I don't think we were ever really friends."

Lum went silent, his eyes going back to his book. It's not like he was about to try to extend any hands of friendship or anything, especially since every Octarian he had ever met shot at him the moment they saw him. Still, the idea that the Inklings and Octarians used to be friends made him think a little. He didn't have long to think, though, as Hum broke the silence.

"Oh, Lum, remember what that philosopher once said." She smiled mischievously. "He who fights with Octarians might take care, lest he thereby become an Octarian."

Lum shot his sister a look. "Your joking privileges are hereby revoked, Hum." He shook his head, then tried to continue reading. "What would you do if you met an Octarian?"

Hum blinked. "I know you're reading about the war, but what's with all the sudden Octarian questions?" She glanced at the book Lum was reading. "If I met an Octarian, I'd spray him with Pest-Away, of course."

Lum sighed. His sister had shifted to laughing off his questions, it would seem. As he thought about the Octarians, he realized that he should return to Octo Valley before long.

"Now if you're done asking me questions..." Without warning, she suddenly thrust a piece of paper in Lum's face. "While you're reading for fun, I have school tests coming up. Can you help me make sure I know this material?"

He looked at the study sheet, random Biology questions. As if any of them would ever at any point in life need to know a Zapfish's pressure points. Yet despite the suddenness, he went along with it. The two siblings spent the next few hours together with their texts.

* * *

"Just think, sister." The Octoling prince addressed his sibling, keeping his arms eloquently folded behind him. "Had our ancestors won, it would be us living in luxury, not them."

Deep in Octarian territory, it took all of their limited resources just to keep their central command working optimally. Though, describing the building as functioning 'optimally' was stretching things a bit. They wouldn't have to cut so many corners if the war had ended the other way.

The princess said nothing at first, just looking at the various monitors, lit up with images of the Great Turf War. Her eyes narrowed behind her goggles as she saw how the war slowly shifted to the Inklings' favor, eventually ending in their victory. "Don't dwell on our ancestors' failure, dear brother. They proved themselves worthless. I'm going to leave their failure in my dust." She traced a finger along the arm-rest of her throne, tapping one spot impatiently. "And once we defeat Cuttlefish and I have the Inklings under my heel, I just might give you a little shack to do your experiments in."

"If you want to win, I would advise that you _not_ make light of the importance of my research." He turned away from the monitors. Normally the calmer of the siblings, his lip was starting to twist in annoyance before he took in a calming breath. "But speaking of defeating Cuttlefish, Arvis?"

The Twintacle jolted as his name was called. "Yes, s-sir. Your strategist has formulated his next plan. The next time Agent 3 appears in Octo Valley, he has no chance of not becoming an inky stain. I would swear by my tentacles on it."

The princess sighed and leaned her head back, resting it on the back of the throne. "Watch this just be a repeat of your last plan."

Had the words come from a common soldier of the army, Arvis would have them shipped off to a ludicrously dangerous mission. Yet since it came from the princess, he simply swallowed the reaction he wanted to give.

"Put faith in me, my masters. My reputation as a strategist is well deserved." He bowed his head. "The machine you gifted to me performed perfectly in the tests. There is no chance of Agent 3 defeating it."

The prince stroked his chin. _Ah, yes, that old invention. If only Arvis knew how close I was to trashing that decrepit machine._

"The next time he appears, this conflict will swing decidedly in favor of our people. That I promise."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	7. Trapped

**Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

"Move it, you boneless leeches!"

Arvis barked orders as other Octarians scurried around. They were busy doing final maintenance on the prince's invention. The machine would, ideally, allow them to finally rid the world of Agent 3.

The device was oddly shaped. It looked like an assortment of poles stretched across the sky. Octarian Ink could be put onto the poles to serve a number of different purposes. When Arvis had first heard of the list of things it could do, his eyes lit up with eager anticipation. One particular feature could put an end to one of Agent 3's ways of getting out of trouble, provided the machine was working properly. After that, he would have contingencies for all of that boy's other tricks.

"Faster, I said! You won't like what'll happen to you if it isn't in perfect working order by the next time we see that boy." He twisted his lip, and in a quieter voice for him alone, he added. "I won't be shamed again. That Inkling will not survive this round."

He closed his eyes, and his angry expression slowly softened. His mind's eye already picturing the inevitable result.

* * *

Lum was sitting at a table in Octo Valley, casually nibbling on a sandwich. The only other person sitting at the table with him was one of his fellow agents. Agent 1, or Callie, was busy digging into a full course meal. Meat, cheese, and cakes doted the tabletop, it looked like entirely too much for a single squid.

As Agent 1 shamelessly dug into her meal, Lum just awkwardly stared at the girl. The sight of this was making him slowly lose his own appetite. He looked down at his sandwich, he had only taken two small bites out of it.

"Are you sure you should eat _that_ much before a day of missions?" Lum asked. The girl stopped eating momentarily and looked at him. "I mean, what if an Octarian hits you in the gut today?"

Agent 1 swallowed down the food she had in her mouth before speaking, a small bit of cake still on her lip. "I'm not too worried, nothing could go wrong with a legend like you with me." She lifted her shades off her eyes and winked at Lum.

It was then that Lum noticed. He knew that his fellow agents weren't ugly, but that little wink made him realize, Agents 1 and 2 really were quite attractive girls. Of course, most of the maledom of Inkopolis were attracted to the two, he just hadn't thought about it too much.

His moment of noticing this slowly faded. As his thoughts returned to the conversation he was having with his friend, he noticed that his Hero Shot was resting next to him. He debated hitting Agent 1 in the gut with some ink as a joke.

"Runaway crabby cake!"

Lum bolted around to watch as the captain was chasing a bouncing article of food. He chased it past the table, past his shack, until eventually catching it and sinking his teeth into it.

"It didn't have a ghost of a chance." Lum quipped, wondering if it was entirely sanitary to eat a crabby cake after it had rolled along the ground like that. He took another bite out of his sandwich as Cuttlefish began digging into his own meal.

"Bucko." Cuttlefish began as he finished his cake. "When you're done eating, I need you to head out to see Agent 2."

Lum tilted his head. "I was wondering where she was. What's she doing? Where is she?"

"Just some scouting." Cuttlefish said. "Off to the north. Made sure there weren't any Octarians around. No repeats of what happened last time, but I want you to scout with her today."

Lum made a quiet laugh as he thought how just a few days past he had to save Agent 2 from an Octarian stronghold. "That was a memorable incident. Though I hope it doesn't get repeated too often." He looked back at his sandwich and took another bite out of it before dropping it on the table and standing up. If there were no Octarians around, he may actually have a pleasantly uneventful time in the valley today. It'd be a first.

* * *

Cuttlefish had some interesting idea for where scouting should take place. Up high in the air, on one of the curious floating structures, though easily reached by an Inkrail, Agent 2 was watching the perimeter with a telescope. Though it should have been an important job, there was an undeniable look of boredom on her face.

"See anything interesting?" Lum inquired from behind her. Agent 2 jolted at the sound of the first syllable. She turned to him, looking slightly annoyed. Lum ducked his head, realizing that he should have announced his presence a bit less suddenly.

"Nothing." Agent 2 answered. "The Octarians aren't moving right now."

Lum crossed his arms. Normally he should be relieved to hear that, but after the oddly organized plan the Octarians had the last time he faced them, that they had gone silent was a bit disquieting to him. Though if they tried something, he was sure that he could handle it. He had always been able to handle it.

As he continued thinking, Agent 2 nudged him. "How's regular life treating you?"

He shrugged, unperturbed by the change in subject. His teammates were always curious about him for some reason. "Decently. I do almost everything with my sister. Except when I'm down here, obviously."

The girl made a small smile. Lum stepped forward and squinted his eyes, looking off into the distance. He saw some of the kettles that marked the entrance of the Octarian's dwellings, but no sign of the Octarians themselves. A part of him was telling him that they had to be planning something. Yet...

* * *

"Scouting for us, are they?" Arvis grinned. The two Inklings were oblivious to the camera that was watching them. They were no match for Octarian intel collection. As Arvis watched the live feed, he saw that this was the opportune moment.

"I only planned to get Agent 3, and while the other two field agents are negligible at best, taking one of them as well will be a nice little bonus." He nodded to himself, satisfied with his plan.

"Begin the first phase."

* * *

As Agents 2 and 3 continued watching the distance, the sudden sound of an inky explosion came from behind them. They spun around in unison, though Lum had to lean back to keep himself from being clobbered by 2's telescope.

"The Inkrail!" Lum saw it, with Octarian ink spread around it. The yellow ink that had been flowing through it was no more, it was running Octarian ink through it now. No Inkling would be able to use it right now. Lum squinted, getting the Inkrail working for them again would be easy, but there was no way that was all that was about to happen.

Immediately taking his Hero Shot in one hand, Lum raised his other to signal his fellow agent to stay put while he investigated. Yet he had barely taken a step away from her when a whirring mechanical sound filled the air.

A series of, it looked like a set of poles, appeared in the sky above them. Suddenly, Octarian ink appeared, stretching across the sky, forming a sheet between the poles. In barely a minute, the sky was covered in a blanket of ink, suspended in the air.

"What is the point of that?" Agent 2 queried at the sight. What had appeared above them was technically impressive, quite pretty to look at, actually. Yet any intended purpose seemed to elude her.

Lum looked at the device, how it blocked out everything else above them, and he blinked as he realized what the purpose of it was.

"We can't Super Jump." He said, drawing a look of understanding from the girl. The Inkrail was not running Inkling ink, and they couldn't Super Jump safely with that sheet of ink in the air. If they tried, they'd fly straight into the Octo ink and get splatted. The Octarians were trying to pen them.

"Then... we're trapped?" Agent 2 asked. With the Inkrail down and unable to Super Jump away, they were effectively stranded. One shot of ink would have dealt with the Inkrail trouble, but did they have something ready to deal with an attempt to fix that? Lum raised his hand to his chin in thought, then noticed a small orange light on one of his fingers.

Instinctively, he grabbed Agent 2 and fell to the ground, dragging her down with him, just as a concentrated blast of Octarian ink flew overhead. His quick thinking spared Agent 2 of any injury, yet as the ink fell it landed on top of Lum.

"Lu- Agent 3!" Agent 2 immediately went to his side after she got her bearings. Lum got up to a sitting position, looking like he was in a fair bit of pain, but relatively okay. With some of the ink slowly dripping off of him, he half-way got up to look in the direction the ink had come from.

An Octosniper was watching. And not just one, several had appeared, keeping a vigilant watch on the floating platform.

"'Made sure there weren't any Octarians.'" Lum repeated, as he signaled for Agent 2 to follow him. "I need to have a talk with the captain when we get back."

* * *

Arvis' smile grew wider.

"Yes, scurry to the lower spots. You can evade me, but you can't defeat this perfect ambush. Eventually you'll have to crawl out of there, and we'll be waiting. This time you aren't leaving Octo Valley, brat."

His last defeat would be vindicated, he was sure. He stayed looking at the monitor, wanting to catch every last moment of the boy's end. That his plan would bring an end to the greatest threat to the Octarians was an achievement he could rest on for years to come.

* * *

On lower ground, Agent 3 and 2 sat down. Here they were relatively safe, but a glance up let you saw the laser sights prowling for the two of them. After a moment, Agent 3 tried to go up, but had to immediately jump back down to evade another attack.

Agent 2 looked at Lum expectedly, but he only frowned in response. Above, the ground was flat and featureless, and devoid of anything to hide behind. If he tried to head up and fight, the Octosnipers would likely splat him before he could take all of them down. He needed something that could distract them.

"Captain. Captain!" Lum immediately spoke through his radio, generating a surprised yelp from Cuttlefish.

"What is it, bucko?" The words sounded slightly garbled. Lum immediately realized Cuttlefish probably had food in his mouth. "Have you met up with Age-"

"Yes, I _have_ met up with Agent 2." Lum said in a highly annoyed tone. "I've also met up with an organized Octarian attack." He glanced up in the air. "They drenched the Inkrail in their ink, and they have... some kind of machine in the air to keep me from Super Jumping. And there's too many Octosnipers for me to get to the Inkrail myself. I need you and Agent 1 to get the Inkrail working with Inkling ink on the other end before I can do anything."

Cuttlefish took note of Agent 3's report. "Alright bucko, we'll get the Inkrail back in order. You just hang tight until then."

Lum sighed as Cuttlefish stopped speaking. His eyes drifted skyward, it was the middle of the afternoon. He wasn't sure how long it would take before he would be able to get out of Octo Valley this time.

* * *

"Octo-jerks at the Inkrail." Cuttlefish noted. "Seven, no, eight of them." A small squadron of Octarians had suddenly appeared, a Inkrail with Octarian ink running through it behind them. It was obvious that this team of Octarians were here only to ensure that the device didn't have Inkling ink running through it again.

Agent 1 frowned. Unlike Agent 3, she wasn't a natural at fighting, but she also knew that Agents 3 and 2 were depending upon them. She took out a Roller, one that looked like it hadn't seen action in quite a long time. Meanwhile, the cane that Cuttlefish leaned on was actually a Charger. Though, while he was a veteran at battling, age had given him a very shaky aim.

She rarely actually fought the Octarians, but she had some slight experience. She'd likely never be storming enemy bases the way Agent 3 did, but she had managed to splat a few Octarians during her time in Octo Valley. Still, what would take Agent 3 a few seconds might take hours for her and her grandfather. With a sigh, she readied herself for a fight.

* * *

It was starting to become evening. Lum sighed. Whoever made this plan must have had something ready at the other end of the Inkrail as well if it was taking this long. This was stretching into the longest he had ever been in Octo Valley.

"Is this interrupting your schedule, 3?" Agent 2 asked as she saw Lum's slightly agitated body language. "Missing your chance to head out to party with friends?"

Lum flinched. "Um, 'friends'." He turned to Agent 2, she raised an eyebrow at how her fellow agent suddenly looked distraught. "The only person I hang out with is my sister."

Agent 2 did a double take. "You... don't have friends in your regular life?" He had said earlier that he did everything with his sister, but she didn't realize his sister was the only person Lum hung out with.

"My only friends right now are you, Agent 1, and the captain. Everyone else I've tried to interact with, well..." He trailed off and looked away, suddenly unwilling to make eye contact with her.

"What? How have things gone with your other friends?" Agent 2 asked, leaning toward him. Lum closed his eyes, should he really tell her that? He was sure that his teammates were trustworthy, but it was a very personal history, and not something that should be given out casually.

He suddenly felt something on the side of his head. He opened his eyes to see that Agent 2 had put her hand on his cheek to pull his head into a position where he had to look at her. Even with her mouth mask concealing a great amount of her face, her eyes revealed deep empathy. The look greatly loosened his lips, and he slowly began to explain his history.

Tales of betrayal and exploitation with countless individuals. Agent 2's eyes widened at what she was hearing. Throughout his life Lum had truly wanted a circle of friends, but nothing ever worked out. He gave and gave, but these 'friends' of his always left when it was their turn to give. Eventually, Lum slowly came to give up on friendships.

Yet there was that small tone to his voice that gave away the fact that Lum still wanted people who just tried to understand. Sensing this, as they sat near each other, Agent 2 bowed her head.

"Lum." She shed their identity as agents for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I shouldn't have made that comment about partying." Lum was simply looking down at his shoes, Marie felt compelled to speak further. "Lum, Callie and I are true friends. There might be moments where we had fun at your expense, but we would never abuse you the way other people have."

Fun at his expense. She decided against telling Lum that she and Callie were discussing the idea of using Lum as a rag doll to play dress up with. Maybe they'd wait a few weeks before they'd try that with Lum.

She glanced up, judging by the slightly faster movements of the lights, the Octosnipers must have been getting frustrated that the Inklings weren't showing. Fortunately, whomever came up with this plan wasn't smart enough to have some way to flush them out. She returned her attention to Lum, who had since raised his vision and was looking squarely at her. She sensed that the boy trusted her if he told her about his experiences, but a second look at his face revealed something else.

"You're getting tired, aren't you?" Marie asked.

"No, I'm..." He trailed off and shook his head. Being pinned down in this sunken area actually was taking a bit of a toll on him. "I'm plenty awake."

Despite that response, Marie stood up and walked to him to gently lay him down. "I can keep watch for a little while. Try to get some sleep."

He was resisting being laid down. "B-but Marie, if they decide to come here and attack while I'm asleep, we'll-"

Marie give him a slight smile. "I'm not on your level, but I _can_ fight." She revealed a Charger. "I can handle a few hours watching by myself."

Lum opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by the sound of Marie humming a soft tune. She leaned him onto his back. Even on a rough and uncomfortable surface, his eyes grew heavy with the sound of Marie's lullaby. It was only a few seconds longer before he drifted off to sleep.

Marie half-smiled, brushing Lum's forehead with one of her hands. The invincible Agent 3 had something he was sensitive about. She'd have to talk with Callie and their grandfather, to make sure they never unintentionally put their foot down on Lum's problems.

She looked up, evening was transitioning to night. They weren't going to escape too soon. She wondered how Lum's sister was reacting to this long absence from her brother.

* * *

"Where is he?!" Hum asked aloud, walking at a fast pace through the plaza. Lum had disappeared again, but he had never been gone this long. Always he had been back before nightfall. Hum still had no idea where Lum was disappearing too, but now she was feeling a horrible sensation that Lum wouldn't be coming back this time.

In desperation, she had asked all the shopkeepers if they had seen him. She even asked that urchin in the back alley, the one she thought was the very definition of untrustworthy. Yet none of them had seen him anywhere.

So, he hadn't been at the house since the early morning, and it seemed he hadn't gone to the plaza either. If so, where was he? Where had he gone? Where was he going, anyway? If she only knew, she didn't like being in the dark if her brother was having some sort of problem.

She glanced at the sewer grate, but dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. There was no way Lum would go down into the sewers. No Inkling would ever waste their time there.

Yet he had to be somewhere. She gripped at the suction cups in her hair, wondering if something terrible had happened to her brother. Why wouldn't he tell her where he was going? There had almost never been secrets between the siblings. Well, minus the 'Lum's first Roller ever being put in the oven' incident. Hum would live with Lum never knowing her involvement in that.

* * *

"Arvis." The little Twintacle jolted as a small Octotrooper came up behind him. "The prince and princess are wanting a report."

The ranked Octarian grumbled under his breath. It was only a matter of time before everything worked out, yet it was destined that there would always be annoyances like this.

"Genius can't be rushed." He said after a moment of silence. "They're trying to undo the strategy, but it will work in due time."

The Octotrooper looked at the monitor, and smirked. "Shall I tell them that they're expertly waiting you out?"

Arvis turned and made a small growl. "Watch your clever mouth. Tell them that Agent 3 is about to be splatted." Indignant at the taunt, he spoke again before he thought. "He'll be splatted within the hour Tell them that."

The Octotrooper gave a smug nod before walking away. Arvis shook his head in annoyance, angered at the lack of respect he was being shown. He turned on the radio and spoke. "Octosnipers, shoot at _anything_ that makes the slightest movement. I want the boy reduced to an inky stain immediately."

* * *

Lum stretched his arms as he woke up, he blinked a few times, then realized he was still in Octo Valley, with the sun beginning to rise. He sat up, seeing that Marie had dozed off about arm's distance away from him while he was sleeping. Fortunately, the Octarians didn't seem to be checking if they were awake or not, just waiting for the two to try and crawl out of the pit they hid in.

He shook his friend awake, she groaned briefly at being woken up. Even with groggy eyes, she could still see the Octosniper lasers.

"We can't stay here forever." Lum said. Almost in response, his stomach growled. He gave an ironic smile as he thought about the sandwich he ate only part of. Hunger pains would eventually force them to leave this safe place. Yet the area above them was flat and devoid of hiding places, going up almost guaranteed being splatted by the Octosnipers.

Suddenly, a familiar sound was heard in the air. Without thinking, Lum poked his head up above the pit he and Marie were in. His eyes widened at a new development, and then Marie yanked him back down by his shoulder.

"Have you gone crazy? The Octosnipers will-"

"The Inkrail is working again!" Lum cut her off. Marie was surprised enough that her grip on Lum's shoulder weakened. Lum immediately grabbed his Hero Shot. "Took their time, but Agent 1 and the captain must have come though, and the Octosnipers are busy investigating the sound. This is our best chance."

Without waiting for anything else, Lum raced out of the pit. Marie climbed up behind him and watched. At first she just wanted to see what the Octotroopers were doing, but then relaxed. Resting her chin on her hands, she enjoyed watching Lum's displays. Several of them were splatted before the Octosnipers slowly realized that their prey was out of the pit and attacking them. They turned and tried to respond, but Lum had closed too much distance, now the lack of hiding spots for Lum to duck to wasn't aiding them anymore.

Once they were all gone, Marie came up beside Lum. Lum turned to her and smirked. "That's one incident I hope doesn't repeat anytime soon." He pointed at the Inkrail. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"No..." Arvis gawked at what he was seeing. Agent 3 and Agent 2 turned to their squid forms and escaped on the Inkrail of ink. He gritted his teeth and shook with rage. "How? Why did they give the _Inkrail_ their undivided attention?! I was so close, I-"

The door to the room opened up. The sound of boots on the metal floor sounded throughout the room. Arvis didn't have to turn, there was only one person among the army who had this kind of silent presence. It was none other than the prince who had come.

"It was reported that Agent 3 would be splatted within the hour, correct?" He asked. He looked at the monitor, seeing two distinct globes traveling along an Inkrail. The prince smirked. "Tell me, Arvis, which stain is Agent 3? Because I can only see only yellow stains, and nothing in our ink color. You _did_ get him, didn't you?"

"Ah, p-prince, I... um, t-that is..." Arvis stammered, trying to buy time for himself to form a coherent excuse for his failure. He had to, somehow, preserve his position as the official strategist of the army.

The prince looked at his creation hovering in the air. _It's about to collapse._ He noted, it couldn't be kept in constant use for that span of time. It was the lack of long-term usability that had resulted in him condemning it.

Almost as if his mental note was the cue it was waiting for, the blanket of ink went haywire. Rupturing, there was an explosion of ink in the sky. The metal poles, unable to handle this, disconnected from each other and tumbled from the sky, landing and scattering on the ground below.

"Worthless." The prince muttered, turning his gaze to Arvis. It was unclear whether he was referring to his destroyed invention or Arvis.

* * *

"You're back!" As soon as they got back to safety, Agents 3 and 2 were wrapped up in Agent 1's embrace. One arm around Lum, and the second around Agent 2, though Agent 1 had her chin resting firmly on Lum's shoulder.

"Y-yes, we're back, and... ah!" Lum noticed some Octarian ink on his friend. "Where did-"

"They had some guards by the Inkrail." Callie said. "It took me and gramps some time to take them out, they got smart to hit-and-run tactics real fast. Would have been different if you were here." She referred to Lum. "Now we can all go home."

"Home..." Lum pondered. _I wonder how they'll react to me being gone until morning comes again._

"Just don't let anyone mistreat you." Marie added. Lum looked at her, then smiled at the concern. Callie tilted her head, not understanding what her cousin was getting at. As Lum and Marie continued looking at each other, Callie realized that the two of them must have shared something during their dilemma.

Lum was interested in going back home as soon as possible. Marie saw Lum off with an affectionate look.

* * *

Outside of his house, Lum audibly swallowed, then slowly, slowly walked up and knocked on the door.

Before he could rap a second time, the door swung open and Hum was standing in the doorway. She looked like she hadn't gone to bed at all. There was undeniable fatigue etched in her face, and she was breathing quite heavily, but her eyes suddenly lit up when she saw her brother.

"Lum!" She dove forward, falling onto her brother and wrapping her arms around him, her glasses bouncing up and landing on her forehead. "Lum, I was afraid you wouldn't come back." Her hug looked more like she was hanging on him. Lum wasn't sure how to respond to this sudden affection, and then Hum's eyes snapped wide open before narrowing.

Her embrace ended and she was suddenly clutching at her brother's biceps and gritting her teeth. "Lum, you idiot! I was afraid you wouldn't come back! Mom was bawling her eyes out! Dad got angry at me because he thought your disappearance was _my_ fault. I ought to-" She breathed hard, then her face fell into Lum's shoulder and she closed her eyes.

Lum tilted his head in confusion, Hum was able to get a few words out. "The next time I'm wide awake, you _will_ tell me where you go when you disappear. For right now, just let me sleep."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed.**


	8. Last Chance?

**Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

A glimmer of a Charger's laser light searching for its prey, followed immediately by a blast of Octarian ink.

The target of the attack nimbly dodged, letting the ink spread harmlessly on the floor. Yet without missing a beat, several Octolings threw Splat Bombs to try and cut off their target's escape. The bombs exploded, but not before their target had already gotten to the other side.

"A-amazing!" One Octotrooper gawked as training continued. The Octoling princess, normally seated on her throne, was making a mockery of her soldiers in this training exercise.

"Does everything surprise the footsoldiers?" Arvis asked while keeping his eyes riveted on the spectacle seen on the monitor. "Our prince and princess are not our leaders just because of their commanding presence. They outperform both the common and elite soldiers in the army so completely, that these training sessions always end with some fifty or so soldiers feeling embarrassed at their own incompetence."

The Octotrooper tilted his head in thought, then turned to his superior. "But, if they're so skilled, why don't they take on Agent 3 themselves?"

"Out of the question." Arvis snapped. "We shouldn't jeopardize our leaders casually." He twisted his lip in annoyance, thinking of how easily he could fill the position of power one of their royal highnesses would leave behind. "Though, it is true that if any Octarian could stand up to Agent 3 solo, it _would_ be one of them."

And then, there was a possibility that there was a diamond in the rough somewhere in their ranks, but that was unlikely. They'd have caught wind of a common Octarian with the potential to stand against Agent 3 by now, wouldn't they?

"Between the prince and princess, who is the more skilled?"

Arvis blinked. "That's a decent question." Though he offered even that small bit of praise grudgingly. "Considering their physical skills and reflexes alone, the princess comes out on top. Yet the prince has many inventions he uses to aid himself. However..." He turned to the Octotrooper. "I would advise you never insinuate that the prince is the stronger. You don't want to know what the princess does to people whom she feels are challenging her supremacy."

The Octotrooper audibly gulped at the warning. Just then, a metal door swung open. The princess walked out of the training room, she looked barely strained at all, yet the interior of the training room was filled with defeated Octarians. She had prevailed in what might have been a one on one hundred exercise, and didn't look like she had even exerted herself.

"Another stunning triumph, your highness." Arvis bowed his head to the princess. Annoyed, her graceful response was to purposely step on Arvis' tentacles.

"I'd be more interested in my triumphs if the soldiers were more skilled." She muttered as Arvis desperately tended to his flattened tentacles. "Those were supposed to be the elites of our army. I found nothing 'elite' about them."

Arvis blew cold air on the bruises of his tentacles, then turned to his master. "N-now, princess, few are gifted with the kind of talent and physical dexterity possessed by you and your broth-"

She shot her strategist a cold look. Arvis quickly reworded himself. "Few possess the talent and physical dexterity that _you_ possess, your highness. It is their inferiority that proves you deserve to rule them, after all." She turned full body to Arvis, looking ready to speak further, when a voice stalled their discussion.

"My princess!" An Octoling shouted, running into the room. She came to a stop in front of the princess, briefly out of breath. "Ag... Agent 3 is in Octo Valley again!"

"What?" Arvis asked, caught completely off-guard by the news. "I've never seen so little downtime between one appearance by him and the next."

The princess smirked. "I guess you have another chance, Arvis." She turned to the tactical-minded Twintacle, glancing down at him. "You've failed twice now. Fail me a third, and I might have to re-evaluate your worth as a strategist."

Arvis felt like the world had stopped as the words registered on him. The princess had taken a quiet tone with him. This was perhaps her attempt at a between-the-lines threat, but what she was saying was impossible to misinterpret. Succeed, and retain his position as effective third in command. Fail, and he would likely be cast out of the army, or used as target practice. He opened his mouth to speak, first nothing, then an incoherent string of syllables. Intelligible words came on his third attempt.

"As... you wish, my princess. I don't have much time to formulate a strategy..." He trailed off, thinking of what to say. "I... have a plan forming in my head already. And this time, I will _personally_ be in the field overseeing the strategy. I won't let the stupidity of the common soldiers sabotage our victory again."

* * *

"You're back again already?" Cuttlefish asked as Agent 3 sat on a rock across from him. "I've never seen you again so quickly after you left, bucko."

"Well..." Lum tugged at the collar of his Hero Suit. "I'm... actually trying to hide from my sister right now." Cuttlefish gave him a confused look. "She doesn't know about Octo Valley, I've been keeping it a secret like you all asked. But now she really, really wants to know where I'm disappearing, too. She was on the warpath about it this morning."

A chuckle came from the side. "Scared of your sister?"

He shot Agent 2 a look. "I can handle my sister when she's angry." His brow creased as he thought of how Hum was getting. "When she gets enraged like _that_ , though, you just need to get out of the blast zone. So, I'll be down here, and hope she's a bit calmer in the evening." He didn't need to glance to the side to see that Agent 1 was also amused by this little problem.

After a moment, he stretched his arms and yawned. "But anyway, any particular missions since yesterday?"

Cuttlefish tugged at his cuttles. "The radar detected movement at an old Octarian base. I was wanting to send you out there. Since they're up to something, I want to get the jump on them this time."

"Right." Lum looked up, seeing that it was still the morning. "And I'll be playing defense against another plot, I'm guessing." He spoke with that odd sarcastic streak that popped up now and then.

* * *

The Octarian base, for all extents and purposes, looked abandoned. Lum had entered from the kettle that led into it, and there was no sign of activity anywhere in it. Despite that, Lum kept on guard. The last incident taught him to not assume that the situation was safe, especially when you were in Octarian territory.

He carefully combed the base, looking for any sign of the activity Cuttlefish's radar had detected. Additional time was spent in areas that could make for good ambush points. Throughout it all, he kept his allies well-informed of what he was doing at all times. As time went on, he started to develop some doubts with Cuttlefish's radar readings.

"Kind of reminds me of when you first started coming to Octo Valley." Agent 1 said over the radio. "You out solo in the field in a kettle, the rest of us helping you from here."

Lum stole a smile. "I don't recall those days being easy for me, but I powered through." As he spoke, his eyes kept watch on his surroundings. "Seems like the Octarians have stepped up their game, though."

"Yes, they have." Agent 2 agreed, thinking for a moment. "Speaking of games, Agent 3, would you consider being on my side next Splatfest, no matter what the theme is?"

He jolted. "Um, that's..."

"Hey, no fair!" Agent 1 interrupted. "Don't try to claim Inkopolis' best for yourself! A-Agent 3, you're not falling for this, are you?"

Lum looked down at the ground. His radio continued to transmit the sound of the two squabbling. "I'm... getting back to the mission, you two."

* * *

"So that's Agent 3." One Octotrooper watched the monitor of the boy wandering around the base. "Huh, I was told that he had huge protruding fangs, and attacked in all directions with ten Splattershots all at once."

"Come on, that's not even the scariest thing about Agent 3." A second Octotrooper said. "The story goes that when he's in a bad position, he doesn't turn into a Kraken, he turns into _Cthulu_!"

"I hear he never runs out of ink, and he _teleports_! Also, he'll drink our Ink after he splats us."

The two Octotroopers continued swapping horror stories about Agent 3, until eventually Arvis came up behind them.

"Stay at attention." He ordered with a tone filled with irritation. He watched Agent 3 on the monitor. This boy was the source of all of his grief these days. Agent 3 had defeated him twice, if he tasted a third defeat, he may never have the chance to have a fourth encounter. "I have to succeed today. I must succeed. The consequences for failure are far too..." He trailed off, shivering at the thought. He couldn't remember the last time he was in such a precarious position with his superiors.

He entertained his own ambitions of ruling. For that reason he sought to curry favor with the current rulers, until an opportune moment revealed itself. Yet if failure met him again today, then-

"Captain Arvis. If you've been staying at attention, you'd know that Agent 3 has reached the bottom of the base."

He nodded at the reporting Octotrooper, too focused at the task at hand to catch the sarcasm. "That's good. We'll meet the boy face to face in a few minutes, but for now, flood it."

* * *

As Lum was feeling his way around the bottom of the Octarian base, he heard a loud sound. Metallic scraping, the sound of something moving. He stood up straight, waiting to hear if anything further was going to happen. After a moment of silence, he heard the sound of... rushing. Splashing.

Suddenly, water fell in a steady waterfall, landing almost right beside him. He instinctively jumped back, knowing full well how water would dissolve his inky body. The water was spreading, he looked up, seeing more rushing water coming. His shoes were getting wet, and if the water continued rising in this pit, his life would be in very real danger. Immediately, he shifted into a squid and Super Jumped into the air.

Landing on one of the floating structures within the base, he saw floodgates open all around, letting the water gush in. Slowly it was rising, the entire lower half of the Octarian base was sunk in the water. Lum frowned, looking at what was still dry land. As it stood he was very-

"Feeling trapped?" A voice asked. Lum snapped around, seeing a single Twintacle standing on a platform not far from him, wearing a large grin on his face. "I'm _not_ sorry to hear that."

Lum immediately pointed his weapon at the Octarian, but didn't fire immediately. "You're brave to appear without any kind of weapon." This Twintacle didn't as much as have the little mechanical platform that others of his ilk rode on. "You have a name?"

The Octarian bowed his head, Lum sensed the movement was more born from arrogance then politeness. "My name is Arvis. I am a strategist among the Octarians. Tell me, did you like my previous attacks? When I had an Inkstrike dropped on you in that pit some time ago? Or when I had you trapped with one of your friends just yesterday?"

"That was you?" Lum pulled his Hero Shot back, though he looked ready to threaten Arvis again with it. "I admit, those were more impressive plans than anything I saw when Octavio was in charge."

Arvis' grin grew wider. "It's nice to have my genius recognized. Among the Octarians, I'm surrounded by incompetent idiots who can't understand my brilliance."

"How brilliant can you be if you lost both times you tried your luck against me?" Lum smirked.

At the question, Arvis' smile faded in an instant. "Let an Inkling win two petty battles, and suddenly he thinks he'll always win." He gritted his teeth, then after a moment calmed down again. "But being the one who will obviously win this encounter, I will let you feel full of yourself, for a few further seconds." He glanced away, water had stopped coming from the floodgates, now the water's surface was settling into a calm. It was peaceful in how undisturbed it was, and yet falling into it would mean certain death for both Lum and Arvis.

But that wasn't all, as Arvis scanned the water surface, it looked like he was waiting for something.

"Bucko!" Cuttlefish spoke through Lum's radio. "There's something moving under the water...!"

Immediately something broke the water's surface directly across from Lum. A giant machine of Octarian design. It hovered in the air, with eight long and bulky tentacles swaying beneath it. It's appearance could most easily be summarized as a giant mechanical octopus.

Arvis smirked as one of the tentacles grabbed him and lifted him up. "I wanted to speak to you face to face before this. My generosity told me that you deserved to know me after you won our previous encounters, but this is the turning point of our little war, Agent 3. When you're just a smear, either on the platform or in the water, the advantage will belong to the Octarians."

The head of the mechanical octopus opened, revealing a cockpit made to fit three. Two seats were already taken by Octotroopers, the tentacle dropped Arvis into the third, raised seat in the center. At once the head closed again. A humming sound emitted from the octopus as its blank, featureless eyes turned a bright yellow.

"Agent 3! I have every intention of making this the last time I'll see you!" The octopus began moving, gliding over the surface of the water, briefly submerging and then reappearing above the water's surface. "You have four, maybe five platforms you can safely move around. I have the entirety of this base. All advantages of mobility are mine, and you cannot match my tactical prowess. You being splatted is the only end this day is capable of having."

A voice suddenly came from Lum's radio. "Agent 3, can you get out of there? In your current situation you might-"

"I've experience with the Octarian weapons, Agent 2." Lum responded, his eyes already studying his opponent for weak points. "I'll be fine, just watch."

He heard Agent 2 audibly gulp. Lum took a step to the side, his mind wandering to the other Octarian weapons he had defeated. Did this one fight like any of them? Or did they have similar weaknesses?

Suddenly, Arvis made the first move. Hatches opened up on the side of the mech's tentacles, and ink torpedoes were launched. As they closed in, Lum simply shot them down.

"Just keep firing the torpedoes." Arvis ordered. "It may be a stale and crude strategy, but he can't fight off the bombardment forever."

True to Arvis' words, the attack continued repetitively. The time Lum spent shooting the torpedoes as they approached slowly stretched into ten minutes. Arvis came to get impatient with his enemy not tiring out. Eventually he ordered that the octopus be brought closer to Agent 3 to give him less reaction time.

That would prove to be a mistake.

After Lum shot down the next barrage, he took two Splat Bomb out and eyed the thick tentacles of the machine. Arvis immediately saw what Agent 3 was doing. "Pull back! Pull us back!"

The order came too late, the Splat Bombs managed to get through still open hatches before detonating. The ink-plosion coated the inside of two tentacles.

"Sir, two tentacles are not responding." Arvis narrowed his eyes at the news.

"This calls for a different approach. Submerge." At his order, the octopus went underwater. Lum studied the water surface, looking for any sign of his enemy, when suddenly the platform he was on shuddered. Lum lost his footing and fell onto his side. As he stood up he knew that Arvis had rammed the tall platform from underwater.

Immediately, he jumped to a second. A loud crashing sound was heard again, and the first platform sunk. The octopus immediately emerged from the water, trying to confirm Lum's location. Lum took the opportunity to shoot the octopus in its face.

"You think your ink can hurt the armor?" Arvis mocked. "I'll grant I failed to take the dangers of open hatches into account earlier, but I'll leave you no opening again." At his command, one of the octopus' tentacles raised, threatening to crush Lum with a mighty swing.

Lum dodged the downward swing, it landed with a loud thud that tested the endurance of the platform. Lum then inked the octopus' face again. This time, he coated the eyes of the octopus, rendering its occupants momentarily blind.

"We can't see?" Arvis asked aloud. The yellow ink dripping across the eyes of the machine had blocked off the vision of the three occupants. "Was that what he was playing at? I'm kind of impressed."

He frowned. Using the tentacles to clean the ink off would likely only punch a hole in the mech's face. "Fire torpedoes from all still functioning hatches. He won't be able to react at this range."

The pilots complied, and entered the command. Arvis nodded to himself, then his eyes widened in realization at the opportunity he had just given to his enemy.

"W-wait! Abort! Abort launch!"

The order came too late, several inky explosions sounded, and with it, the sound of severe damage to the machine.

"Sir, I think he put Splat Bombs through the hatches again. We have... only three functional tentacles left."

Arvis growled. "How do we get the ink off of the front?"

The two pilots exchanged nervous glances with each other. "S-should we tell Arvis we can get rid of the ink just by submerging again?"

"I'm not brave enough to tell him that. Just submerge, he'll pat himself on the back for his 'genius' solution."

The octopus went under the water again. Arvis saw the ink almost immediately disappear from his vision. He smiled a self-indulgent smile. "Ah, my brilliance triumphs again." He didn't hear the two pilots trying to stifle their laughter. "However, that begs the question as to how to attack next. Does this machine have any other weapons?"

"We do have an Ink Cannon right below the octopus' eyes. But it's only good for so long as we still have-"

"Ink cannon?!" Arvis asked, opportunity twinkling in his eyes. "Get above the water again, get a good distance from Agent 3, and splat him with it!"

The octopus emerged from the water again, a hatch opening right below the eyes. On the opposite end of the platforms, it released a massive and thick blast of ink. So massive, that Lum barely had any space on his current platform to dodge.

"Agent 3!" Agent 1 shouted through the radio. Lum slowly stood up, slightly grazed from the attack. Though from something like that, 'slightly grazed' put him on splat's door.

"I'm, ugh, fine." Lum tried to assure, but his pained voice wasn't terribly reassuring, especially as he now stood on somewhat shaky legs that threatened to buckle. He heard a small sound through the radio, he assumed it was the sound of Agent 1 biting her nails.

The octopus mech readied another shot, this one Lum managed to cleanly dodge by shifting into squid form and leaping to a second platform, though he landed awkwardly on the edge of the platform, and teetered, just about ready to lose balance and fall into the water. The octopus looked ready to fire again... but didn't.

"What are you waiting for? We'll never get a better chance than this!"

"I-I tried to explain to you, sir." One pilot answered. "The cannon is only good as long as we still have ink, and something like that uses up the ink very quickly. We're spent."

Arvis blinked, then watched as Agent 3 regained his balance, breathing heavy for a moment and cautiously studied the octopus before leaping toward it. "What does he think he's doing? We don't have any hatches open he can attack."

The two pilots shared a glance. "Do you suppose Agent 3 is going to try and..." They both gulped, then immediately stood up. "Okay, we're done. Abandon ship."

They both ran off, Arvis' gawked as his subordinates ran past him. "Get back here, you two! I can't afford to go back with another failure! I-" The entire mech shuddered, Arvis looked back to the front. Agent 3 was shooting into the ink cannon, and it was damaging sensitive areas inside. The lights inside turned red, Arvis looked up at various warning symbols flashing on the walls, and knew what was coming next.

"Oh splat."

The mechanical octopus vanished in an inky explosion. Arvis himself was ejected straight up into the air, higher and higher until he smacked straight into the roof of the base. Then, gravity kicked in, and he fell down, landing on the same platform that Agent 3 was on.

"No... no, what happened?" Arvis bemoaned as he began to pick himself up, looking at where his machine had been just minutes ago. That the water was somewhat disturbed was the only sign that the machine had been there at all. "T-the... prince and princess, will not be pleased..."

"Prince?" Arvis jolted at the word, and looked up at Agent 3. "Prince and princess?" Arvis blinked, then stood up.

"My masters." He declared, then thrust both of his tentacles at Lum. "You may have defeated the strategist three times, but you can't defeat my masters! The Octarians are joined under masters far more competent then Octavio and his ridiculous music was. He hyperventilated in his anger, then ran past Lum. "Perhaps we'll meet again. Or maybe not."

Lum watched as he left, not feeling inclined to chase after him. His mind was focused on the 'prince' and 'princess' that Arvis mentioned. New leaders of the Octarians? If he knew about the leaders, perhaps he had taken a step toward defeating the resurgent Octarians. As he continued thinking, he felt something nudge his side.

He looked down to see that the two Octotroopers that had been piloting the octopus at Arvis' command were on the platform with him. They both tilted their heads, then turned to one another.

"Gosh, would he really turn into Cthulu if we made him angry?" One asked the other. "He never teleported. Maybe we weren't good enough to interest him? Though he didn't seem to ever run out of ink either."

Lum raised an eyebrow at these two Octarians. One of them suddenly produced a pen and paper.

"You're skills are legend among the Octarians. I want to show my fellows that I survived an encounter with you. Can I have your autograph?"

"I... what?"

* * *

"We can expect Arvis' whimpering apology in a few hours." The princess commented as the monitor in the base went dim. Not far, her brother stood. After a moment, she posed a question. "What's your take on our strategist?"

The prince arced his neck and looked into the empty air above him. "His short temper and sore loser tendencies aside, he's a competent tactician. But he skips too many steps and focuses only on what he sees as the inevitable result. Regardless, mission accomplished."

The princess was taken aback. "Mission... accomplished? Agent 3 is still around, and we're no closer to our goals then we were before."

"Oh, I wasn't expecting Arvis to succeed. I did just say that he skips too many steps, and Agent 3 is cunning enough to exploit those skipped steps. I gave up on results from him after his first failure. Had he actually succeeded in defeating Agent 3 today it would have been a fine result, but all I really wanted was for a message to be delivered." He pressed a button on his wrist.

"Prince and princess?"

"Prince and princess?"

"Prince and princess?"

Countless monitors on the walls were lighting up, showing a close shot of Agent 3's face, with him uttering the very words. The princess looked at the monitors, she turned to get brother, incredulous. "You want to announce to him that we're leading the New Octarian Army? Why? ...Have you completed your analysis of his combat style."

"Nearly." Her brother responded, turning full body to her. "We'll let Arvis continue to hold his position for now. His pathetic floundering against Agent 3 does hold delightful entertainment value. But the time the two of us meet Agent 3 face-to-face is drawing near. Very near."

* * *

Lum landed with a sigh back at the camp. Without warning, he was suddenly tackle-hugged by Agent 1.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" She immediately asked, her arms firmly around Lum's torso. "I don't think any other Inkling could have won in that situation."

She eventually released him. Agent 2 tapped him in the shoulder. "We couldn't sit still in that fight. That Arvis seemed to have every advantage, I... was worried today was the day your luck ran out." She was a bit less openly affectionate then Agent 1, but her concern and relief was plain to see.

He immediately turned to Cuttlefish. "Captain, did you hear what Arvis said?"

The captain nodded to him. "I don't know who the prince and princess might be, but we now know who's leading the Octarians." He put a bit more of his weight on his cane.

Lum found himself thinking. "DJ Octavio was the Octarian King. Do you suppose the prince and princess are his...?"

Cuttlefish stroked his cuttles. "Maybe. Never heard of him having kids, but I think the Octarians will be quiet for a while after today."

With the matter in Octo Valley resolved, Lum's thoughts moved to what he should do when he goes back home. "My luck might really run out when I see my sister again." He could handle anything the Octarians came up with, clearly, but matters at home were a little beyond his ability, apparently.

Agent 2 tapped a finger to her chin in thought, then took a step to the side and had a whispering conversation with Agent 1. After a moment, they came up to him.

"This one was going to actually be on the market tomorrow, but we'll use it to save you from your sister. She said she wanted to win this." Agent 1 handed him a small scratch ticket.

"Be sure to bring your sister with you. You, me, Callie, and your sister can spend some time together in our regular lives." She smiled, and then the two left. Looking down at the scratch ticket in his hand, he took out a coin and began to scratch the layer off. His eyes widened when he eventually realized exactly what he was holding.

* * *

With a gulp, Lum entered into his family's living room. His movement was stealthy and quiet as he scanned around the room, looking for any sign of his sister. Eventually he saw her, sitting with her back turned to the door he entered from. He knew he had to get this over with, and closed the door behind him, loud enough for Hum to hear it.

"Lum." Hum stood up from the couch as soon as she heard the door close. You could see one arm rest of the couch torn from her angrily clutching at it. Turning around, she stormed across the room, breathing fire as she closed the distance between her and her brother. Under normal circumstances this is when Lum would immediately vanish, but this time he just took out a small card.

"You think you can impress me with something?!" Hum immediately snatched the card from her brother and took a close look at it. "You think you can make me give the okay what you're... doing... with a..." Her eyes went back and forth across the card several times. She read it again and again, needing to convince herself of what she was holding.

"D-dinner? With the...?" She looked up at her brother, then back down at the ticket. "The winning ticket? To the Dinner with The Squid Sisters competition?"

The next bit played out exactly as Lum predicted. Hum began bouncing off the walls and hanging from the ceiling. She shifted into a squid and continued her enthusiastic outburst, until she, still in her squid form, landed on the top of Lum's head. She moved around the top of Lum's head with delight, then raised her head with a realization.

"I-I-I need to get my clothes washed. I need to look my best! We have to-"

"Hum!" Her brother interrupted. "It's a few days off, get ready the night before." He tilted his head slightly off, being careful to not make his sister fall off.

Hum jolted at that realization. "Yes, well..." She trailed off. "A-anyway, don't sweat me being upset about your disappearances. You should have more faith in your sister's ability to forgive."

Lum's brow furrowed, but in contradiction he also smiled. _I have much more faith in your capacity to be bribed._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed.**


	9. Dinner With Stars

**Well, this was a long delay. I've no real excuse from my departure from writing. Just that I got sidetracked with some real life stuff.**

 **But, in a silly little way, this delay might have been for the best. Eventually I'd have gotten to a chapter where Callie or Marie shot ink with a weapon, and I'd have had the narrative saying that Callie had black ink, and Marie had grey ink, which would have looked silly after the Squid Sister amiibos seem to have canonized the two to pink and green ink, respectively. Heh.**

 **Anyway, I own OCs and everything else belongs to Nintendo. Enjoy!**

* * *

Today was the big day.

With the winning ticket turned in, Lum and Hum were preparing to head out to enjoy winning the Dinner with The Squid Sisters contest. The ticket itself had already been cashed in, no need to fear it being misplaced or stolen. The media had already picked up on it, and the two had already been in the spotlight of a few interviews regarding their feelings for winning. And as much as Hum was looking forward to meeting Callie and Marie, the loner girl clearly really, really hated all the attention she and her brother were getting.

Pictures of the two siblings were everywhere in Inkopolis, and they had achieved minor celebrity status. The sort of status that would probably blow over shortly after the event, but it was also getting them some negative attention. Some of the pictures had been covered with graffiti containing... charming messages. There were some squids who were rather bitter that they had lost the contest.

 _It's for the best._ Lum once mentally noted as he walked past one such example of graffiti. Having already become a secret friend of Callie and Marie, he didn't want them to have to put up with any of the more unpleasant fans of theirs.

Yet all that should come to an end by the end of today. The two of them would go to the Squid Sisters' studio and enjoy an evening with them, and then things should start getting back to normal. At least, that was the siblings' shared hope. Any more time with this kind of attention would be deeply unwanted by both of them.

They had both spent the morning doing everything in their power to look their best. Slightly begrudgingly in Lum's case, who thought his regular attire was good enough, but Hum was insistent that the day be perfect. So he was forced to wear something uncharacteristically formal today. Though still not quite the suit one would wear to some fancy, refined party.

"No, no, get the wrinkles out of your shirt!" Hum pulled at her brother's sleeve. The shirt he had chosen to wear was not quite up to what she wanted him to wear, and they had argued throughout most of last night about it, but this was all the compromising he was going to do on this point.

After trying to hide the wrinkles in his sleeve, Hum moved to adjusting Lum's glasses so they were perfectly straight on his face, then started brushing some dirt off of his shoulders and back. She was being as particular as was squidly possible about this.

Eventually, after feeling satisfied with how she and Lum looked, she took in a breath and beamed. "I finally get to meet Callie and Marie face to face! I hope I can actually form real words when I'm near them."

Lum shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing to get worked up over, Hum. We eat dinner with them, talk with them, then we come back."

"'Nothing to get worked up over'?" Hum asked, incredulous. She suddenly thrust her face within an inch of Lum's, who jerked back at the sudden invasion of his breathing room. "We're getting to personally spend time with Callie and Marie. _Callie and Marie_! Do you know how many squids in this city would splat for this chance? Splat _many_ times?"

Her brother just rolled his eyes at Hum's enthusiasm. His sister twitched. Lum felt his forehead strain as he remembered.

 _Right, have to make sure she doesn't know._ Lum cleared his throat as he hurriedly thought up an explanation. "I... am looking forward to this, Hum. I'm just worried that Pyrot and Cranch might find a way to spin this to their advantage if I'm too excited."

Hum leaned back, looking slightly distraught. "I forgot about those two." Her whole attitude had sobered up, as she thought to herself, then suddenly reached out and clasped her brother's shoulders. "Well, don't worry. They aren't getting past your sister."

 _Nice save on my part._ Lum complemented himself mentally. He realized that the biggest challenge of the day would be making sure that he didn't seem to already be an acquaintance of Callie and Marie. Then... he wondered what Pyrot and Cranch really were up to right now.

* * *

Pyrot sat in one chair in a local restaurant, stewing in his defeat. He had bought maybe hundreds of scratch tickets, enough that you could probably crush a squid under them, with the intention of being the victor of the contest. Yet somehow, Lum and Hum, who hadn't bought even a fiftieth of the tickets he had, managed to be the ones who found the winning ticket.

He tapped the fingers of his left hand angrily at the table he was sitting at, just staring at his food and drink. Some of the gang that followed him were nearby, completely oblivious to their leader's agitation.

"Hey, boss, this book is really stimulating. I feel like an intellectual." One of them said out of the blue. Pyrot turned to the speaker, ready to fiercely snap at him, but...

"I'm sorry, is that a book of connect the dots?" He asked, looking at the book one of his lackeys was paying attention to. The squid looked at him.

"Nah, it's color by number."

Pyrot tapped his pointer finger on the side of the table. "It's nice to know I surround myself with such geniuses." He turned his head to look out the glass to the plaza outside. Lum and Hum were walking by, Pyrot snorted and turned away. At that moment, a hand slammed down on the table, making him jump back. His chair nearly fell over, only his reflexive grabbing of the side of the table kept him from falling onto the floor.

"I'm not used to you sulking like this." It was Cranch, the tanned Inkling immediately took a seat across from Pyrot, one arm resting on the table. "Though I suppose it's not every day that Lum beats you in a contest like _this_." Pyrot didn't speak a word in response, just gritting his teeth and fuming. Cranch leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his wrists as a wicked smile began to form on his face. "You know, while you might not be able to win the contest now, you _can_ make this a day that will haunt Lum and Hum forever."

At that, Pyrot's facial expression loosened and he raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

Cranch tilted his head in a condescending manner. "You know what. Today, every pair of eyes in Inkopolis will be paying attention to them. It wouldn't take much to make it look like their interactions with Callie and Marie look like... something else."

Pyrot blinked as Cranch's point slowly sunk in, and his scowl dropped completely. His lips began to curl into a cruel smile. "That's the best idea I've heard all day. But I can make the idea even better." He turned to the side, stroking his chin as his eyes locked onto the random Inklings wandering around the plaza. "I can make it so that Lum and Hum are run out of this city. I'm fine with never seeing those two ever again."

"Ah, now _that_ sounds interesting." Cranch said. "Want my help? I think I want to be a part of whatever idea you're cooking up."

* * *

"Oh, the Squid Sisters studio." Hum breathed in the air around her as she entered the building, her brother right behind her. She whipped her head around several times as she tried to everything to see in the lobby. To Lum's chagrin, as his sister's rapid head movement resulted in her hair slapping him in the face a few times.

"Stop gawking at everything." Lum said, breaking Hum out of her starry eyed pans across the studio lobby. "You look like a crazed fangirl."

"I'm allowed to be excited for this." Hum retorted. "Who do we know that's actually had the chance to meet Callie and Marie?"

Lum looked at his sister for a moment, then soundlessly shifted his vision to the elevator. As Hum was excited, Lum found himself to now be dreading this. He would have to find some way to signal to the two to treat him as though he had never met them. His sister wasn't dumb, and this was not going to be easy. And while he had been looking forward to this dinner at first, all of a sudden he was just seized with a desire for it to be over and done with.

"Lum? Lum?" Hum tapped her brother's shoulder, bringing him back to the moment.

"Y-yes? What is it, Hum?"

She frowned. "And you were telling me to stop 'gawking'. Please don't space out again here. You look like a crazed fan... boy."

He smirked at Hum trying to use his words against him. Hum pointed to the end of the room. "They just told us to head to the elevator. It's time to meet them."

In the elevator, Hum took in several deep breaths as they began going up in floors. She sweat ink from her forehead as they got closer to their destination.

"Please let them like me." She said, swallowing audibly.

"Relax, Hum." Lum said, clasping her on her shoulder. She jumped at the sudden touch. He sighed. "They'll probably like you more if you're not so high-strung about this."

"R-right. Of course." She breathed out, then took in a calming breath, regaining a fraction of composure. "The last thing I want is to look like a moron in front of my idols. They're probably completely relaxed about this."

* * *

"This is the first time we'll be seeing Lum outside of Octo Valley." Callie noted, sitting at a table in their own room. When Lum, who they just knew as Agent 3 at the time, first came into their lives, Callie never thought she would have basically invited him into her and Marie's own room.

She impatiently tapped a finger at the table and glanced over at Marie. Marie was slouching to the side, supporting her head with her hand. She looked nonchalant, yet there was that little crease to her face that indicated she might have actually been a bit nervous.

"We know Lum, but I wonder what his sister is like." Marie said, seeming to be speaking her thoughts rather than talking to her cousin. She then stood up a bit straighter before leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. "We should have grilled him a bit more about what Hum was like."

There was that sudden ding that indicated that the elevator had reached its destination. It paused, and Callie and Marie's ears picked up the slight sound of chatter inside the elevator.

"Remember, Hum, talk calmly. Do you want the media to remember this day for the wrong reasons?"

The elevator doors opened. Out stepped two yellow haired Inklings, one male, and one female. Callie and Marie both smiled at Lum. He wasn't wearing the Hero Suit they had always seen him in, but they still knew it was him.

 _He wears glasses when he's out in Inkopolis._ Marie mentally noted as she looked at Lum. _I never pictured him with glasses. That's... actually adorable looking._

They then shifted their attention to the female Inkling. This was Lum's sister, Hum. While Lum looked completely normal, Hum seemed like she was trying very, very hard to look calm. Callie remembered Lum saying that Hum was a big Squid Sisters fan.

"S-S-Squid Sisters." Hum began with a shaky voice. "F-finally in the presence of-"

Lum looked at his sister, who was beginning to stutter very badly, and just shook his head. He took a step forward. "Ah, Callie, Marie." Lum started, trying to break the ice and move the conversation forward. "How nice to finally meet you. You've probably already been told about us. We're the winners of your contest, Lum and Hum."

 _'To finally meet...?'_ Callie was confused momentarily by Lum's wording, then her eyes drifted to Hum and understood what message Lum was trying to give.

Callie got up dashed into arm's reach of the two. "Hi, Lum and Hum. You don't know how much fun I plan for us to have tonight." She brought her hands together with a big smile on her face, then winked at the two. "I hope you like the same foods I do." She grabbed both of the siblings by the hand and dragged them to the table Marie was still sitting at. Hum looked about ready to pass out from the fact that she physically touched Callie. "I want to know all about the two who won the contest."

The conversation slowly got started. Hum still had some trouble forming words at first, but eventually began to speak properly. As the food was brought in, Hum's enthusiasm at being near her idols drowned out her fear of looking like a buffoon in front of them. Any worry of their interaction being awkward quickly vanished as Hum really got herself started. Lum was almost completely left out of the conversation as Hum asked countless questions to Callie and Marie. Hum was curious about their careers, and their personal feelings about their rise to popularity. In fact, it was getting to a point where Lum was worried that Hum would wear Callie and Marie out.

The dinner started to feel more like an interview as they talked between mouthfuls. The food was high-quality, cuisine of all shapes and sizes. There was a notable lack of seafood of course, but otherwise there was all kinds of meat and cake to be eaten at their leisure.

The conversation continued, but Lum, who wasn't all that curious, and could have just asked them these questions down in Octo Valley if he really wanted to, began to slowly zone out and just focus on the food. This was really Hum's day, he knew. And this way it remained until Marie spoke to Lum.

"Lum, your sister is passionate. How do you feel about being around us tonight?"

"Um..." Lum recovered from being suddenly brought back into the conversation, and was unsure of how to respond after being content to be ignored. "Well, I think it's nice to be around you." He glanced at his sister. "I guess I'm mostly happy that my sister's enjoying herself now." He looked back at Callie and Marie, then suddenly ducked his head slightly.

Callie had to smile at Lum's sudden head movement. While they talked normally enough in their secret lives, he was actually getting shy with them here.

"You're definitely good company. A lot different from... some other people in my life."

Hum turned to her brother. "Lum, you..." She turned back to Callie and Marie. "Sorry, he's had a history of being backstabbed by people he thought he could get trust. I think he wants to be able to trust you."

"Right." Marie said. "All those friends of his who-mmph!" She clasped her hand over her mouth as she realized what she was saying. Too late, unfortunately, as Hum was looking at Marie with an astonished look.

"H-how did you know about _that_?" Hum asked, bewildered at what Marie had started to say. "How in the world did you-"

"Now, Hum." Lum began, glancing at the Squid Sisters to tell them to let him handle this before returning to his sister. "It was probably a... um, lucky guess?" Hum shot her brother a look. "Hum, there's no way she could have known that beforehand. Don't give it another tho-"

Suddenly Lum's ears twitched as they registered a sound. He scanned around the room several times. "Did you hear...?" He stood up, looking around the room.

"What? What did you hear?" Hum asked. Lum tugged at his ears, trying to figure out what he was hearing.

"Some kind of snapping sound. It-" He looked out the window, and saw an Inkling standing on the grated path outside. The Inkling outside jerked back when he realized that Lum had spotted him, and quickly pocketed a small camera. He made a smug little grin, then vanished.

Lum blinked in recognition. "That was Pyrot."

"Who?" Callie asked, stepping forward.

"One of the 'friends' we just mentioned." Lum brought his hand to his chin. "If Pyrot's here, he must be planning to get me in some way. So..." He stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then suddenly bolted forward.

Hum rose out of her chair at the speed of light. "Lum, wait! Don't try something without me!"

* * *

"Can't believe he heard the sound." Pyrot grumbled as he continued running across the raised path on the exterior of the building. He looked down at the camera in his hand as he ran. "Still got some good enough pictures. Now I just need to-" He grunted as someone grabbed him from behind.

He spun around to find Lum. Without a word Pyrot swiped Lum's hands away and took a step back.

"What do you think you're doing, Lum?" Pyrot demanded. "I'm just an innocent Inkling taking pictures."

"Nothing's ever innocent with _you_ , Pyrot." Lum retorted. "What are you playing at this time?"

Pyrot chuckled with a shrug. "Well, I'm going to get you run right out of Inkopolis." He looked down at his camera, tossing it up in the air and catching it in his hand. "I'll be taking these pictures and doing a little editing magic. Once they look like you and Hum were doing unspeakable things to Callie and Marie, we'll just see if you can even manage to stay in our fair city."

Lum's eyes twitched. "That's dirty, even for you." He took in a deep breath. "Why?"

"Why?" Pyrot repeated, as though he felt the answer to the question was obvious. "Because I can't stand the idea of you getting the things I want. _I_ was supposed to win this competition. I don't know how you cheated your way to the ticket, but I'll make you regret showing me up like this."

Lum shifted his eyes to the camera in Pyrot's hand. "Not if I can get that camera."

"You won't." Came a voice from behind. Lum turned to look behind to see Cranch walking up. The tanned Inkling had a wide grin on his face. "There's no way you're getting the last laugh on us today, Lum."

Cranch was holding his Roller. "Oh, didn't bring a weapon to this lovely event, did you, Lum? You can go to a nearby respawn while we're doing our work."

Lum turned back to Pyrot, who was pointing a Splatterscope at him. "I win, pipsqueak. Now you won't be a factor in my life anymore."

Lum's mind shifted to his time in Octo Valley. He had faced more dire binds in his fight with the Octarians. Immediately a plan formed in his mind.

Pyrot let loose a shot, but Lum was a step ahead. He shifted to a squid and slipped through the grate they were all standing on. He returned to his Inkling form and grabbed one of the bars of the grated pathway with his hand, looking to see Pyrot's attack strike Cranch in the face.

"Augh, what the _kelp_ , Pyrot?!"

Pyrot ignored the raging Cranch and focused on Lum as he was getting back onto the path. He tried to fire again, but Lum dodged and began closing the distance. In a moment he and Pyrot were wrestling over the Splatterscope.

As they tussled, Cranch came up behind them, he flinged some ink with his Roller. At the last second before he would have been hit, Lum managed to swing Pyrot into the attack.

Pyrot grunted as the ink landed on him, but the majority of the ink flew past before it began to descend to the ground far below.

Down on the ground, the ink landed nearby some Inklings in the plaza, who jumped at the sudden appearance.

"What the...?" One girl raised an eyebrow at the blue ink, then looked up to the only direction the ink had come from. "Hey, what's going on up there?"

A crowd of Inklings of all ink colors was beginning to gather to watch the battle going on up above. Whispering and speculating amongst themselves as to what the fight was about. Part of a rehearsal? Vandals? What?

Pyrot managed to wrest his Splatterscope back, and used the butt of the weapon to knock Lum a step back.

"Gotcha now!" Cranch declared, stepping forward to bring his Roller down on Lum. Lum saw and reacted, leaning to the side to dodge the ink fling. However, some of the ink landed on his glasses, blinding him.

Taking a precious second to try to wipe the ink off, he saw the light of Pyrot's Splatterscope on his skin. He ducked his head under the shot, then stepped to the side to dodge the falling ink. He turned to face Pyrot, and-

"Lum! Watch out!" Lum snapped his head to the side to see Hum, then saw what she was trying to warn him off. Cranch was coming at him again. He was raising his arms to attack with his Roller, at which point Lum dashed to the side of the tanned Inkling and grabbed the Roller's handle with his own hands.

"Wha-? Let _go_ , Lum!" Ignoring Cranch's protests, Lum raised the Roller and brought it down, sending a massive wave of ink at Pyrot.

Pyrot didn't have the room to dodge on the narrow path, and his eyes widened in doomed realization. "But this plan was perf-" The ink struck him, splatting him in colorful blue ink. The camera that he had been holding was spent flying with the inky explosion, hurtling down toward the ground. It landed on the hard concrete of Inkopolis Plaza, breaking at the collision with the ground.

"The camera!" Cranch growled, he turned to Lum, but the boy took that moment to wrest the Roller from Cranch's hands.

Lum held the Roller threateningly in his hands. "What'll it be, Cranch? Want to join Pyrot at wherever he's respawning right now?"

Cranch's eyes narrowed as he took a step back. After a moment of thinking, he made a small snarl before shifting to his squid form, passing through the grated pathway and falling down to the ground. The Inklings weren't bothered by long falls, he'd get through this unscathed.

With the moment of crisis over, Lum sighed and relaxed his muscles, turning around to see Hum, now with Callie and Marie beside her.

* * *

Of course, since the Inklings down on the ground caught wind of the little battle, some explaining had to be made. Callie and Marie came up with the cover story that the fight had actually been part of a rehearsal. And that 'Lum' had something to do with their next song.

"Though this does mean we really will have to fit 'Lum' somewhere in our real next song." Callie noted, looking perhaps slightly annoyed.

"Well, it is for his privacy." Marie answered, before looking down at the boy. "As for you, do you realize what could have happened to you if Inkopolis actually realized who you were?"

Lum's reward after the day was apparently to sleep on one of Inkopolis' most coveted pillows. He had been embarrassed by the idea at first when Callie and Marie had suggested it, but now his head was resting in Marie's own lap. Marie was using one of her hands to play with Lum's two squid-tails while the other was resting on his forehead. To the side, Hum seemed to be debating whether or not she should have a problem with this.

"I just knew things would be bad if I left Pyrot alone." Lum said quietly. Marie gave him a disapproving look, he sighed. "I... know now how much embarrassment I could have gotten into. One of the winners of the contest getting into a fight at your building and all. But the only thing on my mind was that Pyrot had to have had something bad in mind."

Fortunately, the camera had broken when it landed on the ground, no one would be seeing those pictures now. And even if they did, they'd only see Lum, Hum, Callie, and Marie around a dinner table. Pyrot hadn't yet made his charming little edits to the pictures. And now he'd never be able to make those edits.

Marie's facial features didn't calm at Lum's words. He tried to back away, but wasn't in a position to be moving much of anywhere. Marie poked his forehead. "We were all really worried about you."

At this, Hum raised an eyebrow, then looked at Callie. _Caring enough about him that they're angry with his impulsive actions, and, they knew about Lum's history with his 'friends'._ Hum thought it over in her head, briefly contemplating what it meant before dismissing the thought entirely. _No, it's impossible. But..._ She looked as Lum continued to converse with Callie and Marie. _They do act very familiar with Lum._

"Hey, Marie, Callie?" Lum suddenly said, drawing the attention of both of them. "After today, um... w-what's your opinion of me?"

Hum's hand went to her chin in thought. Lum wanted to find friends and other like-minded individuals. Despite sometimes saying that he's had enough of trying, his desire was still there. And she wondered if the two Squid Sisters caught that small hint of pleading that had entered his voice.

Callie came up beside Marie and Lum to sit down. She gave a cute tilt of her head before smiling. "Lum, I think you know that we like you."

Lum opened his mouth to respond, but then Marie tapped his cheek. He looked up at her. "You're someone I would enjoy spending more time with." Lum blinked, expecting that maybe Marie was going to follow that with some sort of sassy joke. Instead she brought a hand down to close Lum's eyelids. After a few seconds, Lum drifted to sleep.

Marie regarded the boy in her lap. "I don't think I'm getting up anytime soon."

Callie reached in to take Lum's glasses off of his face and hold the pair in her hand. "He looked _so_ adorable with these on." She looked back down at the sleeping boy before tracing a loving finger across one of his shoulders.

Hum felt herself twitch. _Alright, you two. My idols are not, you_ will _watch where those hands are going on my brother._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	10. The Jester

**Not related to this fic, but related to Splatoon. With Splatfests now done, let me take a moment to say that I participated in 13 of the 16 Splatfests. Being on the winning team on 6 occasions, and the losing team on 7 occasions.**

 **Altogether, I was a Hot Dog, Decepticon, Art, Plane, Ninja, Pizza, Nice, Future, Pokémon Blue, Snowman, Fancy Party, Night Owl, and Marie.**

 **Just wanted to say that. Now, onto the latest chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I only own OCs. Everything else is credit to Nintendo.**

* * *

With his uniform and his badge back on him, Lum was slowly getting back to his old school routine.

Standing alongside Hum, they were preparing to enter the school doors. Yet after yesterday, they both needed to take a breath in.

"Everyone would know us due to winning the contest." Hum noted, were eyes riveted on the currently motionless doors. Yet on the other side of the glass she could see student Inklings moving. She just hoped that they wouldn't receive any unnecessary attention inside. Her yellow hair moved with the movement of her head as she scanned the area outside of the school.

The Inklings present weren't paying the two siblings much attention. Though a few of them gave them a second glance as they walked by. Something that made the girl's worries start to waken.

 _They're probably just curious about our hair color, or something._ Hum tried to assure herself, before realizing how stupid of a self-assuring excuse that was. She turned back to the doors with an audible gulp. The eternal loner, she didn't want to spend too much time talking to other squids outside her family. Though yesterday's interactions with Callie and Marie were quite the exception.

Her mind drifted to yesterday. As nerve-wracking as being in their presence had been at first, it quickly turned into Hum interviewing the two. And Lum, the one who got the winning ticket, Hum wasn't sure how he did it, was mostly forgotten in the conversation. Hum felt that she had a deeper appreciation for Callie and Marie's success after the talk, too bad she would be lucky to ever see them up close again.

Lum took in several calming breaths, and then he and his sister began to walk up to the school doors. Slowly, they opened the doors.

Inside, Inklings were loitering between their classes. None of them noticed the siblings coming in. Hum's wish was that people at large had already forgotten them, and they could just disappear in the crowd. With no one seeming to be taking notice of them, that seemed to be a poss-

"It's them!" A voice suddenly screamed. Hum felt the ink of her body run cold. At the words, nearly every Inkling had turned to the two. Whispers began to form in the crowd.

"Lum and Hum?"

"They got to spend an evening with Callie and Marie."

"Do you think they got the chance to _touch_ one of them?"

Lum swallowed as everyone was staring at him and his sister. Sizing them up almost like a meal. "O-okay. This is... this is creepy." A few Inklings were starting to slowly advance toward them, and then Hum tugged on his arm.

"Lum. Run! Run!" Still holding her brother's arm, she took off, half being followed by her brother, and half dragging him behind her. Behind both of them, an Inkling mob was surging toward them. "Come on Lum, I know where we can hide."

* * *

"'I know where we can hide.'" Lum repeated his sister's words as he sat down cross-legged in a near pitch black area. "Hum, we need to talk."

"What?" Hum asked, making a very exaggerated shrug of her shoulders. "No one's ever going to find us here."

He sighed, looking up at one small spot above him where sunlight was coming in. "Yes, Hum, but... a garbage dumpster?"

Hum stood up to very slightly lift the roof to look outside. The school's front yard could be seen, along with twenty-something prowling Inklings. "They're still looking for us. No matter how smelly this is, we'll have to stay in here a little longer." She brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "Probably at least until the classes start. The teachers are too iron-fisted to let this go on during class."

Lum leaned his head back, letting the sunlight light up a patch of his yellow hair. "Going crazy about us because we _may_ have physically touched the Squid Sisters." He tapped his finger on his knee, then smirked to himself. "I wonder how they'd react if they knew that I got the chance to nap in Marie's lap?"

Hum sighed at what Lum just proposed, jokingly or not. "Only tell them that if you want your disembodied head to be considered a collector's item." She quieted down at the sound of footsteps moving past the dumpster, then spoke again. "I hope we can actually make it to class when they start. Today _is_ a test day, after all."

"Oh, that's right." Lum's eyes widened as he remembered. "You've got that Math test, I've got the History test. All I have to do is write three paragraphs about the Great Turf War. You have to help Math find his ex."

Hum's thoughts briefly turned to the Inkling race's enemy in the war Lum was so knowledgeable about. The Octarians had been forced to relocate underground after being defeated by the Inklings. Not really that comparable to how she and her brother were hiding in a dumpster right now, but it still made her think. "I bet any Octarian's situation is better than our current one, honestly."

* * *

Deep within Octo Valley, within the headquarters of the New Octarian Army, Arvis sighed.

Mercifully, his masters had allowed him to keep his status as the army's strategist, but with some 'amusing' alterations. The princess had changed his rank's name to 'Jester Strategist', and had given the order that he was to be openly mocked when he walked around in public. Furthermore, he was forbidden from retaliating from any jeers directed at him.

He had tried to appeal to the prince, but he was indifferent to Arvis' plight. His royal highness seemed satisfied with life so long as he could continue his scientific experiments. One of his pleas to the prince had taken place while he was in his lab, and Arvis had nearly been splatted for the intrusion. Arvis realized that he should have known better, the prince despised interruptions when he was pursuing his passion.

 _Oh, if only our positions were different._ Arvis thought to himself, looking out the glass window to the exterior of their mother base. He now had to try his hardest to avoid the public locations in their base and stick to the paths less traveled, or else put up with the mockery. His own ambitions of power seemed almost impossible to fulfill now. How, he wondered. How did Agent 3 slip past him three times in a row?

Were his position as comfortable as it once was, he'd have nursed his wounded pride by reassigning some of the army's grunts to a pointless and completely embarrassing task. Now his position was too precarious even for that.

This is primarily Agent 3's fault, he knew. But the incompetent soldiers that his masters constantly provided him were also a factor. Which meant their royal highnesses were also partly responsible for this. He was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was in no way his fault that he had become the laughing stock of the army.

"Tell me, how much did those shoes cost?"

"Three tentacles, but it was _so_ worth it."

Arvis registered the sound of talking behind him. He turned to see the two Octotroopers who had piloted the Octo-mech with him in his last battle with Agent 3. They were focusing on their shoes. Arvis walked forward to scold them for interrupting his thoughts, but...

"Wait." Arvis said aloud, drawing the attention of the henchmen. "Have I seen those shoes before?" He regarded the strange yellow and black shoes they were both wearing. There was something familiar about them.

One of them smiled with pride. "Agent 3 shoes!" Arvis flinched. "I got them from the gift shop at the base's lowest level this morning! I'm glad I got there as soon as the store opened. You wouldn't believe how quickly Agent 3 merchandise sells out around here."

Arvis gritted his teeth as his temper flared. "Y-you... Agent 3 is our mortal enemy! One of the greatest threats our species has ever faced off with! And, and you two... are wearing... merchandise based on him?!"

"Hey, if it helps, we'll try to get you the next released product based on him." The Octotrooper's eyes shined with delight. "They're making an amiibo based on him. An _amiibo_!"

Arvis felt himself twitching uncontrollably.

"Um, I think Arvis is shaking with rage."

"What? Why?" The Octotrooper tilted his head to the side, then blinked in realization. "Ah-ha, of course. He thinks we'll buy a bunch and try to scalp them. Well, don't worry, Arvis. We would never try to-

"Jester Strategist." A voice rang out. Arvis whipped around ready to rage at the speaker like he had never raged in his lifetime.

He found an Octoling standing across from him, the seaweed swaying in her hair indicating her elite rank as one of the army's finest soldiers. Yet despite their alleged skill, the Octoling Elites went down like flies when they went up against Agent 3. They also looked hilariously incompetent during the princess' training regimen. Despite that, they were still technically the best common soldiers in the army.

While Arvis retained his position, the rank of strategist, or 'Jester Strategist' now, had been lowered in authority. The Octoling Elites were his superiors now, when only a week ago he could have ordered them to do whatever he pleased.

"Y-yes, my Elite superior?" He ducked his head slightly to keep from looking straight at her face. He had to keep from making eye-contact to keep her from seeing the boiling rage he was now trying to tie down.

"Hmm, I _do_ so enjoy being addressed with a dignified title by you for a change." Arvis felt himself growing angry again. Fortunately, the Octoling moved on to her point after chuckling for a moment. "Cuttlefish's Inklings have been sighted in Octo Valley again. Not Agent 3 this time, the other two. The prince wants you to investigate what they're doing. And capture them if it's reasonably possible."

After three past encounters, the thought of facing Inklings again awoke a fear deep inside Arvis. And then, another part of him was excited for the chance to vent his rage. "I'll crush whoever it is that Cuttlefish deployed to our territory. I _will_ avenge my past failures."

He couldn't see the Octoling roll her eyes behind her goggles. Arvis marched off to head out to Octo Valley, but...

"Um, Jester Strategist?" The Octoling Elite called out, Arvis turned back to her. "Unless you plan to fight the Inklings just as you are now, which is, without any kind of weapon, then I think you should visit our Mech Deployment bay to see what's available for use." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "And the bay would be in _this_ direction."

Arvis stared at the woman for a moment, then stormed past her in a rage toward Mech Deployment.

 _I. Hate. Everything._

* * *

"Yesterday was quite the event, wasn't it?" Callie, now in her Agent 1 identity, was scouting with her cousin again, at their grandfather's request. This was deeper into Octarian territory than usual, but there had been no incidents today. Hopefully there would be none at all. Lum deserved a break after yesterday. "Meeting Lum's sister for the first time, and seeing what some of the people in Lum's life would do just to try and ruin him."

She frowned at the last fact. Oh, Lum had already told Marie, who in turn told Callie, about some of Lum's former friends, but she hadn't expected anything like that. Had the plans of that 'Pyrot' succeeded, she might have never been able to spend time with Lum again. Despite only knowing him for a short time, the thought still discomforted her.

And, when one considered how much Lum did in Octo Valley, Pyrot would have unintentionally doomed Inkopolis is he chased Lum away. They probably would have never even really gotten started on getting back the Zapfish in the Great Zapfish crisis if Lum hadn't entered the picture. Now the Octarians were stepping up their game, and they really couldn't afford to lose Lum.

During the last incident, Lum had met the Octarian who was the mind behind some of their recent plots. Arvis, he was a problem even if he was just one of those twintacle Octarians. Lum had defeated him on every occasion so far, but he was still a threat at large.

Marie, Agent 2, held a hand up to her chin, pressing on the fabric of her mouth mask. "Lum has more problems than I thought. I never would have guessed he had people like that in his life." She wondered how important Hum was to him. Lum and Hum certainly looked like they were close with each other. In the days before Lum befriended Gramps and his fellow agents, Hum must have been the source for nearly all of Lum's emotional support.

"Maybe there's something we could do for him?" Agent 1 asked. "Perhaps I could..." She trailed off as she began thinking.

Agent 2 began to smile underneath her mask. "What? Upset that you weren't the one who had him in your lap?" Agent 1 shot her cousin a look in response to the joke question. She opened her mouth to respond...

Suddenly, an inky explosion went off right beside both of them. They both whipped to the direction the explosion came from to see a splattering of Octarian ink across the ground beside them. But more important, was the presence of a large machine in the distance... that was coming at them.

It looked like a large metallic fish, somehow floating in the air. As Agent 1 regarded it, she thought that it could be best described as the most hardcore goldfish ever. Looking at the exterior, the machine's hull looked like it was literally made out of gold. A cannon was poking out of where the mouth should be, the probable source of the explosion from seconds prior. The mechanical fish came up alongside the side of the floating platform the agents were standing on, and a hatch opened on the top.

The eyes of the first and second agents widened in recognition at the sight of Arvis again, standing atop the mech and looking down at them.

* * *

Finally, Lum managed to make it safely to class just as it started. Not that he got there unscathed, the fabric over his left arm was strained and damaged from more than a few Inklings trying to yank at it. Yet that ended as soon as the class bells rung, and the teacher laid down the law. He was safe until that bell rung again. He cautiously looked over at the door, and the Inklings between him and it.

For now he could just focus on his test, though he could afford some time to hoping that Hum managed to make it safely to her own class, they had to separate as Hum went up the stairs to her classroom. Then he turned his attention back to his assignment. Just writing an essay about the Great Turf War. As he tapped his pen on his desk and debated as to how to approach the beginning of the paper, his thoughts drifted to the rest of the Inklings in Inkopolis.

Only he, the captain, and his fellow agents were really taking the modern threat of the Octarians seriously. He wondered how things would go if the Octarians attacked, that is, _really_ attacked Inkopolis. You could say that many Inklings were getting trained in the Turf Wars, but those were consequence free, mostly. How would the squids react to really putting it all on the line?

A ruler smacked down on Lum's desk, bringing him back to reality. He looked up at the teacher's cross expression. With an audible gulp, Lum put his pen to the paper and began to write.

Arvis tilted his head and looked down at Agent 1 and 2, standing beneath him.

"When I heard that it was Cuttlefish's other agents, a part of me was saddened to think that it wasn't Agent 3 that I'd be fighting." He paused as anger flared in his eyes, then looked down at the two Inklings with deep disdain. "It's his fault I'm in my current situation, and I'm looking forward to vengeance. Ah, well."

His eyes glinted with a cruel pleasure. "I suppose that for today, I can be satisfied with reducing his pretty little girlfriends to unsightly stains on the wall. I'll look forward to telling him that I'm the reason he will _never_ see you two again."

Agent 2 looked at the fish mech that Arvis was using. Not as impressive as the giant octopus machine the Octarian was using last time, but still formidable looking all the same. At once she went to her radio.

"Gramps! Gramps!"

After a moment, Cuttlefish answered. "Agent 2? What is it? Find any Octo-jerks who-"

"Yes, we found one! Get Agent 3 here _now_!"

A distinct pause. "But, Agent 2, I don't have his number."

Agent 2 blinked once, then stared blankly at Arvis' mech. "You mean you _never_ thought it was a good idea to figure out a way to contact him in an emergency?!" She hyperventilated in her outrage, then quickly looked over her shoulder. The best thing they could do right now was to-

"Ah, ah, ah." Arvis spoke. His mech fired a cannonball that exploded in ink right behind Agents 1 and 2. "No running, girls. And no superjumping, either." The fins of the mech opened up, firing a pair of missiles in the air, exploding and creating a lingering veil of ink in the air above them. Arvis looked up at it, content with the goldfish's abilities. _I must give credit to the prince for his brilliant designs. Even a machine he deemed 'unsatisfactory' is capable of so much._

Agent 1 pushed her shades up her nose, then stole a glance to her cousin. Neither one of them was anywhere near Lum's level, but they did have some training. Agent 2 nodded at her, slowly taking out her Charger. Agent 1 brandished a Roller.

"We'll have to find some way to handle him." Agent 1 said, provoking a laugh from the Octarian.

"Handle me?" Arvis asked, condescendingly. "Little girls, you don't even have what it takes to _survive_ the Octarian Strategist." The Octarian stood menacingly on top of his mech, savoring the moment before his triumph, and-

"Arvis!" A voice came from within the mech. "You're the _Jester_ Strategist now. Did you forget, sir?"

His eye twitched in rage, and he directed his vision down the hatch. " _Will you two shut up?!_ " He sighed, following it up with a groan of annoyance. "I thought that was a really good line from me, but the moment's ruined now." He looked back at the two Inklings on the ground. "Well, okay. My subordinate's useless interjection isn't changing how this day will end."

Without another word, Arvis leaped down the hatch, seating himself in the command position as his two subordinate Octotroopers manned the fish's controls. As the monitor showed a visual of Agents 1 and 2, Arvis' eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"Bring me my victory."

* * *

"The Octarians could never get victory against us."

One of the school students was engaged in a conversation with some of her friends after the test was over. Only the unflinching iron-fist of the teacher was keeping Lum safe for now. Class may have been over now, but they were still in the teacher's line of vision. Lum's ears zeroed in on a conversation regarding the Octarians and he turned to the trio of girls speaking to each other.

"Why even bother learning about the old war? They're gone for good, right?"

"If they showed up again, we'd send them packing in seconds."

Lum gave into a weak smirk. A lot of Inklings would probably say the same thing, but that smug assurance of their victory tended to fail to take into account the kind of weaponry the Octarians could unleash. Or how they were getting more organized. If only the residents of Inkopolis knew how close they sometimes came to losing everything.

Lum brought his hand to his chin in sudden thought. What _would_ the Octarians do if they had the Inkling race at their mercy? Nothing pleasant, he was sure. They were, as a race, still bitter over the result of the Great Turf War. They already showed callous indifference to the idea of stealing the city's electrical power. What else would they do to the Inklings if they had the chance?

He blinked once as he realized it wasn't a question worth thinking about. His secret life was about making sure no Inkling would ever have to know the answer to that question. He and his team were the secret line of defense protecting Inkopolis. And he had become the combat star of the team.

His allies weren't useless in a combat situation, he knew. Just... he was frankly the best among them in that situation. So long as he was down there and fighting his hardest, the Octarians would never touch Inkopolis. But he wasn't down there all the time, how would fights go when he wasn't in Octo Valley?

* * *

"Compared to Agent 3, these two are moving in slow motion." Arvis noted with glee as his subordinates continued firing ink cannons from the mech's mouth as Agent 1 and Agent 2 were desperately trying to dodge. "If my plans to deal with Agent 3 can come reasonably close to fruition, then his incompetent allies are child's play to me."

Almost in response to his arrogant comment, a blast of green ink struck the face of the fish. Startled, Arvis had the monitor move to pinpoint where it came from. He found Agent 2 trying to shoot the mech with her Charger. Arvis smirked in response before giving the order to taunt the girl by getting the fish to get right in her face.

An error caused by overconfidence. As random as Agent 2's attack was, as the fish closed the distance one blast of ink managed to hit squarely into the mechanical fish's left eye. With a piercing metallic groan, it was sent a short distance back as its eye burst with Octarian ink.

Agent 2 chuckled. "I guess it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye."

"Laugh it up, Inkling." Arvis' voice came from inside the machine as the fins opened up to reveal holes for missiles. "You won't surprise me twice." At once a series of ink missiles was unleashed from the fins of the fish. "Tell me, do you know what it's like to be at the epicenter of six explosions? If you don't, here's your chance to learn!"

Agent 1 looked as the missiles began to close in on her cousin. Her mind raced for a solution.

 _Come on, think! If this Roller was in Lum's hands, what would he do?_

She closed her eyes, picturing the strategies and split-second decisions that her friend made when he was down here, mentally replacing his Hero Shot with a Hero Roller. Her eyes suddenly opened, she moved forward and made a powerful motion with her Roller. Massive globs of ink flew through the air and detonated all six missiles prematurely.

"That annoying little scallop." Arvis growled from inside. "Use every weapon system, _now_!"

Per his orders, the now familiar mouth cannon and fin missiles fired again. This time joined by one Inkstrike missile launched from the very top of the machine.

They managed to dodge the majority of the attacks, even the expanding blast of the Inkstrike, but then one of the small missiles managed to strike Agent 1, exploding on her.

"Callie!" Agent 2 shouted her teammate's proper name, navigating around the Octarian ink to reach her cousin. She found that the attack had only knocked Agent 1 off her feet. She was supporting her upper body weight with one arm on the ground but she was now semi-immobilized in the Octarian ink. Agent 2 knew that she had to get her cousin somewhere else, but then she noticed a shadow looming over her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Arvis' machine floating above them.

"Don't look so surprised, Inklings." His words no more than a menacing whisper. "You were up against the Octarian's greatest mind. And you, without Agent 3, never had a chance." The cannon extended from the fish's mouth again. Agent 2 looked down at 1, not seeing a way out of this situation.

Out of nowhere, a blast of ink struck the machine square in the forehead. It did no damage, but it made Arvis momentarily pause before demanding that the fish's position be changed. Above them there was a figure standing. Arvis felt a shiver in his body at the possibility of it being Agent 3.

"I've still got it, Octo-jerks!" Cuttlefish leapt from one foot to another as he held his Bamboozler in one hand. Arvis felt his eyelids begin to fall from boredom. Cuttlefish may have had skill comparable to Agent 3 once, but his skills were negligible these days, for all his claims that he still 'got it'. With a sigh, Arvis debated splatting the old man first. No upset to his plans, even the minor and pointless ones, should go unpunished.

With the moment of opportunity, Agent 2 raised her Charger and fired again. She hit the fish's still functioning eye, making it also explode in Octarian ink.

"Arvis, we're blind now." One of the Octotroopers reported.

Arvis gritted his teeth as the monitors turned to static. "I can _see_ that, you moronic-" the entire machine suddenly shook. He stumbled momentarily and had to regain his footing. Then the machine shook again. "What... what are the Inklings doing?"

Outside, Agent 1, after getting pulled out of the enemy ink by her cousin, had flung ink with her Roller to fill up the fish's mouth cannon with ink. Agent 2 followed up with a blast of ink down the cannon. Under the strain, the cannon overloaded, triggering an explosion.

The fish vanished behind the inky blast. Then, once the ink cleared they could see one floating contraption. Suspended in the air, it was a single metal platform, completely encased in glass. Within the glass and standing atop the platform were three Octarians.

Arvis frantically scanned his surroundings, possibly the most surprised by what had happened. It took several seconds for him to just register the fact that he hadn't been splatted by the explosion. Taking in several quick breaths, the mind he took so much pride in began to slowly realize what had happened.

"The pilot's chamber doubles as an escape pod." Arvis finally took in a deep calming breath. He could at least escape, thanks to the prince's design. He sat down in his relief, despite the situation suddenly turning around on him in a matter of seconds, he could at least safely retreat.

Agent 2, now at ease with the battle over, called out to her opponent. "What was that you were saying earlier, Arvis? That we had no chance without Agent 3?"

At the taunt, Arvis' anger flared, as it often seemed to on this day. "You won _one_ measly battle, but you won't win the war! So today makes no difference!" The escape pod began to drift away, Arvis' body jerked as he realized he would have to come up with an excuse for today's outcome, as well as the destruction of the fish. He sighed, wondering when he'd be ever be able to report success again.

As he was already putting his argument together in his mind, the two Octotroopers behind him began to talk.

"Say, Arvis knows a lot more than we do. He said that Agent 1 and Agent 2 were Agent 3's 'girlfriends'. Do you suppose...?" He trailed off, speculating as to what the implications could mean.

"Awesome!" The second Octotrooper shouted, jumping up and down. "I wish I could juggle Octarian girlfriends the way Agent 3 doe-" He was stopped by a confused look from his friend. "Er, I mean... that is totally not cool. Agent 3 needs to learn how to be faithful."

As they left, Agent 2 leaned back against a pillar before slumping down into a sitting position. "Thank carp that's over and done with." She pulled her mouth mask off of her face before sighing deeply. Had he been here, Lum could have probably taken care of Arvis as easily as he could flick a wrist. A part of her was looking forward to telling him that they had defeated an Octarian plot when he was away.

"Next time I see him, I'll need to get his number." Agent 1 said, regarding Agent 3. Agent 2 looked at her cousin, wondering if Callie understood what it must have sounded like for her to say she wanted Lum's phone number.

Cuttlefish slowly walked up, using his cane to support himself. "Never saw a weapon like that or Arvis' octopus from a few days ago before." He tugged at his cuttles. "They didn't even have this back in the Great Turf War, but both machines looked on par with the Great Octoweapons. Where are the Octo-jerks getting this stuff from?"

* * *

Lum stretched his arms as he finally found sanctuary, back home with his sister. They had left school and made it all the way back here without incident, although they had drawn more than a few second looks all the way home. At least the crowd was getting less crazy already. Given a few days perhaps they'd completely forget about them.

"Today could have been a _lot_ simpler." Hum said as she flopped onto the chair, oozing into her squid form. A reflexive shape-shift she sometimes did when she was exhausted. As a squid, she stretched her tentacles out, feeling intense relief as the tension left her body. "Looks like it'll take longer then I hoped to lose our minor celebrity status."

Lum sat down on the sofa right beside her. Hum came up beside her brother's leg, then flopped onto his lap, jumped to his shoulder, and finally perched on top of Lum's head. Lum let out a sigh as this meant that he would now have to keep his head completely level to keep his sister from falling.

"I know I did well on my History test." Lum said, taking his glasses off and putting them on the table. "How did your Math test go?"

"Brother dear, did you just ask how a Math test of mine went? Next thing you know, you'll be asking if I failed Music."

Lum sighed. Hum was the Straight A student. He only did 'okay' in school outside of History. He turned his head to the side and sniffed at his shoulder. The fact that he and his sister used a dumpster as a hiding place was clearly haunting both of them. A bath in the ink was in both of their near futures.

"Hey, Lum?" Hum suddenly asked. "Yesterday, Pyrot showing up resulted in us having to drop the subject, but... do you have any idea why the Squid Sisters knew about your problem?"

Lum could almost feel the ink in his body slow to a halt at the question. His mind raced for some sort of answer. "H-Hum, you know I didn't know them before yesterday."

"That isn't what I asked, Lum." Hum said, jumping off her brother's head and reassuming humanoid form next to Lum. "I asked how they knew about your problem."

Bringing his hand to his chin in thought, Lum had hoped that Hum would just conveniently forget about this. "Well, I am one of the best Turf Warring squids in the city. Perhaps they heard about me from my performances in the games?"

Hum looked squarely at her brother's face, seemingly trying to study the language his face was conveying. Lum hoped that he just happened to have the innate ability to control sweat, because if any of his ink started dripping down his forehead Hum would know that what he just said was a cover story.

"Maybe." Hum finally said after a long silence. Lum hoped his face wasn't looking as relieved as his heart felt right now. "But that just makes me worry, Lum. I don't think it would be good if your history got well known. Maybe there would be _some_ people feeling sorry for you, but there would probably be more gold-digging 'friends' trying to approach you."

Hum turned her head to look down at her knees before sighing deeply. "I just can't trust anyone with you. But, it would be beautiful if, for once, someone could actually understand."

Lum found himself feeling conflicted emotions all of a sudden. Hum had nearly sniffed out Lum's connection with Callie and Marie, and it was good that she seemed to have been thrown off. Had she learned of it, there would be a lot of complications and problems. Chief of which to Lum, was the fact that he would have been given the mother of all chewing outs from his sister for never introducing her to Callie and Marie.

On the other hand, if Hum did know, she wouldn't still be brooding over this issue. It would put her mind at ease on this point if she knew Lum had found three truly loyal friends. As the girl sat beside him, still upset over the things her brother had gone through, she slowly leaned to the side and rested her head on her brother's shoulder.

He smirked. At least he and Hum were close, as siblings should be. As Hum looked ready to doze off, he leaned his head back onto the sofa, feeling his own eyelids getting heavy.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	11. Spending Money

**Disclaimer: I own OCs. Everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

The door to the tower opened and a group of Inklings left, a sight that repeated endlessly every day as the day went on, morning, noon, and night. Some looking exhilarated at today's games, others looked annoyed, likely due to taking one too many defeats in a single day. Every day was a mix of winning and losing streaks, and some tended to be luckier than others.

After leaving, the group dispersed across the plaza. Some heading for the shops, others looking to catch the train back home. Hum watched the crowd go past her, looking away with a scowl in response to the few that tried to talk to her. She wasn't interested in socializing with them, she was just waiting for her brother so they could both leave the tower.

At least the special attention from the contest had worn off. No one recognized her as one of those that had a meal with Callie and Marie anymore, and that happened not even a week ago. She was happy that it meant she could return to just fading away in crowds.

"That should be it for today's games." Lum said, hoisting a bag of money over his shoulder as he left the tower a little behind everyone else. Today's Turf Wars had proven quite lucrative. Everyone was given money for the amount of turf they individually got, with a little bonus for winning. Periodically Lum wondered who was giving the money away. He could only assume that there was a really easily entertained billionaire somewhere in Inkopolis. But this strange way of receiving payment meant that someone of his skill level could easily become very wealthy.

Were it not for his sister.

The spendthrift squid girl came up beside her brother with a smile on her face, her eyes more on the money bag then her sibling. "How much did you get today?"

Lum sighed at his sister's obvious motivation for the question. "Maybe forty or so thousand. A bit above my daily average."

Hum looked longingly at the bag. "Just imagine what we could buy with the money you've made across the months you've played." She tapped a finger to her chin in thought. Her brother spent most of his time with Aerospray weapons, one of the best weapons at covering turf. Which in turn meant he almost always left a match with a nice haul of money. "By this point in time, you probably have millions of-"

"It's all been spent, Hum." Lum cut her off. "Most of it was spent by you. _Without_ my permission."

Hum stopped talking immediately, then just stared at the bag for a long, drawn out moment. "N-no way, I haven't been spending that much of your money. What about that eighty thousand from last week?"

"Spent by you to get all those Zapfish books."

Hum closed her eyes, then nodded slowly. "I guess they were kind of expensive. Well then, what about last month's crazy payout? You got around two million!"

"Equal to the price of all those clothing sets you bought." Lum said, looking increasingly annoyed. "You know, the official sets that you felt none of which looked right on you?"

"Oh yeah." Hum tapped a finger to her chin. "But at least I found that a mix-and-match of the various sets did look really good on me." Lum looked at his sister with an unimpressed expression. Hum swallowed. "Alright, how about those Ranked battles?"

Lum thought for a moment, then nodded when he remembered. "Oh, yes, those were memorable games. Special shout out to that one guy who brought the Rainmaker back to _our_ base." Hum was looking at her brother expectedly. "You spent that money on Squid Sisters merchandise for the two of us. Because you thought I wouldn't find a Callie body pillow to be ridiculously creepy."

The girl sighed. "So, the money you're holding right now may be the majority of what you have." She stroked her chin in thought. "Maybe we could get a pet. If I got us a Super Sea Snail to keep around the house, what would you do with it?"

At the question, Lum leaned his head slightly to the side to look past Hum. Hum turned around briefly to look behind her, then turned back to Lum with fire in her eyes.

"Brother, dear, you did _not_ just look down that urchin's alley." She took a threatening step forward, forcing Lum to back away, though he kept one hand defensively wrapped around the sack of coins. Hum did not like that Spyke character. At all.

She cooled down after a few moments, but kept an exaggerated frown on her face. "Alright, never mind the idea of a pet. Still, I can't believe I spent that much of your money. I've always been real respectful to what's yours, like a big sister should-"

"Hum!" Lum suddenly shouted at her. "You're the reason why I need to keep money under lock and key! And I haven't forgotten you buying all those tickets not too long ago. Don't you dare say you're respectful to my money."

"Okay, okay." Hum had her hands up in a defensive gesture. Not that she thought that Lum would ever do something worse to her then just yell at her. "But as long as we have money, we should buy something."

Creases formed on Lum's forehead. "I'm the one who'll have to keep you from ending up homeless on the streets, aren't I?" For all her success in school, Hum was an utter failure in financial planning. He turned his neck to look at the nearby stores. "Any ideas on what you want?"

* * *

Their first stop was Shrimp Kicks. In a normal shoe store you could have just tried on shoes and thought about what you wanted without any real hassle. You could mostly do that in Shrimp Kicks as well, but there was a certain recklessly friendly shrimp running the store.

"What's up, squiddos?!" Came the sudden, cheerful greeting. "Ready for a new pair of shoes?"

Crusty Sean was an energetic shopkeeper. And since he didn't immediately recognize Lum and Hum, he didn't know that his personality was overwhelming to both of them. As his spare legs along his torso were wearing their own shoes, this shrimp was nothing if not enthusiastic.

"Just... show us the daily selection." Hum said, trying to speed things along. She took a step to the side to get behind her brother. Sean's enthusiasm was resulting in more than one glance coming their way from the other Inklings currently in the store. Oh, how Hum hated standing out.

But eventually, they were able to get about to trying the new shoes on. Shoes of all types of shapes and colors, some pairs that looked like they could have worked with nearly any outfit. Others so ridiculous in design, it didn't look like they'd even work for a clownsuit.

"Hey, Lum." Hum called out, catching her brother's attention. She gestured to the new black shoes she had just put on. "How do I look?"

Lum crossed his arms, looking at the footwear for a second, then grinned. "I think... you look like my sister in a new pair of shoes."

"Lum!"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not a fashion critic, Hum. Try asking Moe how you look next time you see him."

He had to duck under the pair of shoes that got thrown at him. He smirked, getting a rise out of his sister was sometimes too easy. And throwing an item at him was one of Hum's milder reactions to Lum's periodic dip into sarcastic commentary.

His thoughts briefly drifted to the fact that he was the only Inkling in his age group who saw this side of Hum. Hum was open with her family, but closed off to everyone else. Even now, she glanced to the side to see if anyone had taken note of her outburst. Anyone in this store who tried to approach her, with the exception of Crusty Sean, would receive a defensive and slightly hostile response, no matter how friendly she seemed talking to her sibling.

Hum was putting her regular shoes back on. "I guess nothing here is really reaching out and grabbing me." She stood up, pushing her glasses back up her nose after they fell a little. "But what can we buy? It's pointless to just have money lying around."

"Or, we could... you know, save money."

"Save... money?" She titled her head. "I don't follow."

Lum sighed. "Okay, alien concept. Let's find something worth spending it on."

Hum stroked her chin in thought. _Actually, it might have been for the best that I didn't find anything I want in Shrimp Kicks. Lum earned this money, so it's better for it to be spent on something he wants And if I spend the money on something he wants, he can't talk about me spending money on things I want behind his back. What would he want, though?_

"Hey, Lum." Hum suddenly said. "Take half of the money and buy whatever you want in Booyah Base. I just had an idea of what to do with the other half of the money."

"And what idea is that? Is it something I should be worried about?"

Hum smiled as she walked past her brother. "It'll be a surprise. But I promise you'll love it." She headed toward the exit of the store, not catching the look of mild confusion on Lum's face. As she left, Lum found himself thinking.

 _Well, she has a somewhat questionable track record of what she thinks I'll love._ He turned to look at the shoes lining the shelves, then looked back down at his own footwear. His usual style was more than fresh enough, he thought. Surely there was something else to spend money on.

Glancing at the shopkeeper, he saw that Sean was busy with a Jellyfish customer. One who was clearly having some trouble accepting that his feet just weren't capable of wearing the shoes in the store. Lum could easily slip out without the over excitable shrimp noticing him.

* * *

Before long, Lum found himself in Ammo Knights. Sheldon immediately greeted him.

"Hello, hello!" Sheldon immediately turned to gesture at the lines of weapons he had available. "Ah, you're back, Lum. I know my weapons always get a good home with you. And some time ago I got a new weapon that I'm certain you'd be interested in."

Lum made a curious tilt of his head. "Didn't I buy out the store not too long ago?" He looked at the shelves. They were filled with weapons he already had. Most of them he found to be duds to his personal style, but with some gems hidden away in it all.

"It's been a while since you came in here, did you never hear about Sheldon's Picks?" He continued speaking, describing the new weapons at great length, as though he had explained it to countless Inklings already. And, Lum realized, he might have. Most people would tire out of even something their passionate about if they had to explain it too much, but it would be difficult to deter Sheldon's enthusiasm for weapons.

But while Sheldon never seemed to tire of explaining these things, Lum found it exhausting to hear the crab speak endlessly. Lum would have wanted to keep these visits into the store as briefly as possible. His interactions with the shopkeepers was cordial enough, but never more than that. Though that was partially due to Hum being picky in regards to how friendly anyone got with Lum. It was a matter of-

"W-wait, a new Aerospray?" Lum's thoughts returned to the present moment as word of the new weapon dawned on his mind.

Sheldon smiled. "I knew that part would get your attention." He gestured at one gun on the shelf. Lum had looked at the shelf a moment ago, but only now noticed that there was an Aerospray weapon with a new color. "I appreciate how passionate you are about the Aerosprays. I only completed the RG and MG because of you. Where did you find those blueprints, anyway?"

"Um..." Lum averted his gaze and looked uncomfortably to the side. "Somewhere?"

The shopkeeper frowned at the bad explanation, but then immediately perked up again. "Oh well, I bet more blueprints will be found someday. Anyway..." He launched into another explanation. A new weapon known as the Aerospray PG.

"Same general build as the other Aerosprays, but I made some new additions. I think you'd like the new set of-"

"I'll take it." Lum said, thrusting the money right at Sheldon's face. "New Aerospray. Now."

Sheldon smirked. "I don't see you get this excitable most of the time." He accepted the money, then handed the new weapon to his customer. "I trust my precious child will find a home alongside all the other weapons you bought."

Lum just looked at the Aerospray, mesmerized at the new weapon. Similar to his trusty RG, but with enough differences that he was sad that he was done with Turf Wars for the day. The new PG was crying to be tried out. But the day for that, was not today. After picturing himself in Turf Wars or Ranked Battle with the weapon, he made a side glance at Sheldon.

He wondered how the shopkeeper would react if he knew that most of the weapons that Lum had bought were just collecting dust.

* * *

Back home, Lum met with Hum upstairs, right outside the door to his room. She looked quite pleased as she approached her brother. Lum mentally debated if he should be worried about that.

"I found something I know you'll love." Hum boasted. She was clearly holding something behind her back. "You like reading about the Great Turf War and all, so I visited the museum. At the gift shop, I found... this!"

She revealed a small and soft object. It looked like something Lum saw on a regular basis, but he wasn't able to put his finger on what it was. He did note that it looked very much like a-

"It's a plush of an Octoling." Hum said, making Lum cringe as he finally recognized it. "You bought me that Zapfish doll a while back, I figured I could return the favor. Now you can cuddle with this when you go to bed."

Lum shot his sister a look, but she didn't seem to notice her brother's expression. After a moment he wordlessly took the plush from his sister's hands and looked straight at its goggles.

 _Oh, this is going to give me nightmares._

* * *

"I knew it, he loved it." Hum beamed a few minutes later, oblivious to her brother's discomfort. She stood in Lum's room, picturing her brother sleeping with the plush in his arms tonight. There was no doubt in her mind that she had hit the bulls-eye with her gift. Satisfied for the moment, Hum slowly began to wonder if there was anything in particular she could do now that she was in here.

As her tentacle hair swayed with every minor movement of her head, she slowly began to walk to Lum's closet. There were almost no secrets between the siblings, surely this would be fine. She could spend some time straightening out some clothes as a good deed for Lum. And besides, she couldn't remember the last time she had looked in here, though she figured it would just be some clothes. After she opened the door to the closet, a bag immediately tumbled out.

Hum initially yelped as the bag came out, but calmed down when it missed her and simply landed on the floor. Turning her head, she saw that the content of the bag had spilled out. The contents of the bag was... a curious yellow uniform she had never seen before.

Tilting her head in confusion, she walked up and picked up what appeared to be some sort of headpiece. Complete with triangular shapes to accommodate an Inkling's ears, yet the design was completely foreign. She knew that Annie had never, ever carried a headpiece that looked even remotely like this.

"What... is this?"

* * *

 **I suppose 30% of the point of this chapter was just having Lum change his 'main' weapon. I designed the OC to feel as though it's not a stretch to think I've always been playing as him in Splatoon. So, while he is by no means a self-insert, his battle strategies and weapon selections do respect my personal gameplay style.**

 **I love the Aerospray weapons.**

 ***ahem* I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	12. Royal Showdown

**Disclaimer: I own OCs. Everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

Within their central command, deep in territory where the Inklings had no knowledge of a base, the Octarian princess leaned her head to the side, resting it on her palm.

She sat cross-legged and fidgeted in annoyance. Things were not moving fast enough for her tastes. Her brother stood a short distance from her. Her younger sibling had always favored a slower, more meticulous approach to life's problems. And he had insisted his solutions would have dealt with the problem of Cuttlefish's third agent.

Trying to challenge that boy without properly understanding his fighting style and thinking had been Octavio's downfall, the prince had reasoned. And so he had spent an unhealthy amount of time studying footage of Agent 3, examining how he reacted to a wide variety of situations. It was all as if Agent 3 had become some kind of twisted obsession for the prince.

She diverted her eyes from her brother. He held the rank directly below hers, she and only she could overrule any order he made. Normally there were no problems with this, the prince was normally here or in his lab. Yet there were times, when he needed their operatives to retrieve something from the valley for him, that he treated the army as though it was his own. An arrogant move, but he wouldn't dare do anything drastic. Skilled though he was at the things he did, he wasn't his sister's equal in leadership or combat situations.

The lights above them flickered once, then returned to shining dimly. The prince's ingenuity had allowed them to stretch very limited power across a long span of time, but they would need access to Zapfish before they could truly be in a good position in terms of electrical power. They had power to spare, for the moment, but they needed the Inklings' resources for the long term.

"I'm quite skilled at reading your body language, sweet sister." The prince said out of the blue. "You're upset about something."

The princess leaned back in her throne. "I am... losing my patience with the lack of things happening." She glanced to the side, seeing long rows of lesser Octarians at computers, and Elite Octoling guards standing menacingly motionless around the room. None of them as much as slightly turned their head to pay attention to the conversation. A testament to their respect, and fear, for their superiors.

"The Inklings are doing nothing of note right now." The prince observed. He messed with a few buttons on the side of his personally designed goggles, his vision of his surroundings vanished as the goggles gave him a report of recent happenings. "Not much can happen when they're doing nothing. They remain oblivious to the location of this base. Nor are they trying to locate any real facility. And they... wait."

He paused as some fact had seemingly come to his attention. Almost in response, the jester tactician ran into the room.

"M-my masters!" Arvis began before catching his breath. He stood up straight and tried to speak with authority. "Agent 3 was just sighted entering Octo Valley."

The prince's vision drifted upward. "Indeed, his presence was detected just now. It's been some time since he's been down here. And my-"

He was cut off by a sudden slamming noise. He abruptly turned his head to see that his sister had landed her fist on the left arm rest of her throne. Then, with deep purpose, she rose from her throne. The prince knew what was coming next. His sister only stood up from her throne in such a manner when she was planning action.

"You've finished your analysis on his movements?"

"More or less." The prince answered his sister's question. "I have cracked the code of his psyche."

The princess made a noise of irritation at how long she had waited, then called out. "Keu."

"My lady." An Octoling appeared beside the princess' throne. The prince slightly turned his head to note an elderly Octoling male. How curious, the visors and scanners in his goggles hadn't noticed him until this precise moment.

A few of the nearby Octoling guards flinched as they realized his presence. One could be easily unnerved by this constantly present but frequently difficult to notice octopus. His elusiveness was more notable when one took into account his distinct appearance. Keu was, in a word, ancient. He might have been the oldest living Octarian, he was older then even that Inkling captain.

Perhaps he had been in this room during all of their meetings over the past several weeks. He seemed to be invisible until he needed to be seen, or until his mistress called him by name. Keu was the princess' butler, on paper. In practice he was more of an all purpose servant, handling everything from menial housekeeping tasks all the way up to combat assignments. And while his role was to be an aid to the royal family, his unflinching loyalty was specifically to his princess.

"I and my brother will be leaving on the first self-appointed assignment I've been able to enjoy in a long time." She turned to her servant. "See to it that my New Octarian Army is kept together in my absence."

Keu bowed formally. "The army shall be as you left it when you return."

The princess took an extended look at her servant, then turned to her brother. "We're going to meet the boy. Immediately."

* * *

In the open sunlight of Cuttlefish's camp, Lum was able to stretch his arms in complete contentment. It was time to get back to his secret life as the third agent of the team. The only concern nagging at the back of his mind was how, when he went to get his agent garb from his closet, the bag he kept it in looked disturbed. As if someone had messed with it.

As he looked up at the clear blue sky, he wondered if his closet was really the best hiding place. He would have remembered if he had left the bag in that position. Maybe it was mom or dad. Or slightly worse...

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand landing on his shoulder. He jerked back to the moment to see Callie standing by him before slipping to a seated position next to him. She had a friendly smile on her face today.

"Thinking about something?"

"Nothing too important." He answered, semi-truthfully. He wasn't sure how important the disturbed bag really was, maybe he had just forgotten that he left it looking somewhat ruffled and his imagination was playing a trick on him. Lum looked at the sky above him, with no clouds in sight it was a perfect blue. The Octarians lived in those unattractive underground complexes accessed via the kettles, but the area of the valley above ground actually looked quite pleasant. He turned to the side to look at Callie. Winning that contest was meaningful in ways that words could never convey for Hum, but it was uneventful for him, because he could be this close to the Squid Sisters on a normal basis.

Off in the distance, Marie was talking to her grandfather. The discussion didn't look too serious, but it did seem that Marie was getting annoyed by something. Eventually Marie walked away as Cuttlefish scratched at his head. She came to Lum and Callie and, seeing a space to the side, sat herself down by them.

"What was-"

"He's having trouble understanding the difference between a Killer Wail and a Killer Whale." Marie perfectly answered Lum's question before he could finish speaking.

Lum chuckled lightly. Marie felt the corner of her lip begin to curl into a half smirk.

"Did you like your pillow from a few days ago?" Marie suddenly asked. Lum looked at Marie with a confused expression. "You looked so content sleeping in my lap."

Lum slightly recoiled when he realized what Marie was talking about. He turned away, only for Marie to grab his shoulder to turn him back to her. She grinned at the red flush that had come to his cheeks.

"Go easy on him." Callie said, looking a little annoyed with her cousin. She scooted a little closer to Lum, laying a hand on one of his. "Though you did look adorable wearing glasses."

Lum's face went into his spare hand. The teasing was born from how close they had become, he knew, but he wished the two conveyed that closeness in a different way. Thinking on that, he marveled a little at how close he had grown with his team down in Octo Valley. Callie, Marie, and Cuttlefish looking at his maps off in the distance. Days in Octo Valley meant putting his life at risk, but at the same, he was content for the chance to be with true friends

If only he could spend time with them so casually up in Inkopolis, but there was a little too much of a social gap, and there was the issue of making sure that Hum remained oblivious to his secret life. The day of the contest had been a very close call, and while his sister seemed to have been satisfied with his cover story, there was probably a part of her that was still suspicious. He'd have been suspicious in her position, his interactions with Callie and Marie would have seemed far too familiar.

"Have those two been giving you any trouble?" Marie asked. Lum looked at his friend, taking a second to figure out what she was asking about.

He shrugged. "Not really. I haven't even seen Pyrot and Cranch since that incident." He looked down at his lap. Perhaps those two thought it was in their best interests to lay low for a time. If it meant he didn't have to put up with those two for a while, then it suited him just fine. Though it also made him grow slightly worried about what they'd be doing the next time he saw them. Those two weren't geniuses, but they were far from stupid as well.

Marie frowned at the thought of those two Inklings. What they had tried to do on that day had no motivation beyond a baseless dislike of Lum. If she heard about those two trying to hurt Lum again, then Cranch and Pyrot mind find themselves soon run out of Inkopolis when the Squid Sisters denounced both of them on live television.

The sound of a siren broke the moment between the trio. Creases of annoyance formed on Callie's forehead as, she realized, the presence of Octarians somewhere in the valley had ruined the moment. Lum stood up, making a small apology at their conversation ending, then walked to Cuttlefish.

"Bucko, Octo-jerks are nearby and-" Cuttlefish looked at his radar, then tilted his head in confusion at what he was seeing. "There's just two Octarians nearby."

"Two?" Lum asked, giving a confident grin as he stood up. "What is this? Afternoon entertainment?"

Cuttlefish balanced with his cane as he thought. "We may have caught some of their scouts trying to spy on us. If they're planning something, then it'd be smart to get them now."

Lum grabbed his weapon, his smile now fading to a serious expression. "Just two. This should take a few minutes at best."

* * *

"So he took whatever was in that bag with him." Hum had immediately looked in her brother's closet when she realized he had disappeared again. As she suspected, that strange suit she had found was gone. Her suspicions were aroused to the possibility that the uniform had something to do with Lum's disappearances.

She walked forward to the spot on the floor the bag had been, then slowly crouched and began to trace a line with her finger. Hum had gotten used to Lum's vanishing tricks, even if she always worried about him, or got angry at him, when he disappeared. Yet for some reason, today felt different.

"Is he in danger?" Hum stood up, staring at the ceiling above her. For reasons her mind couldn't understand, the nameless fear brought by her brother's periodic disappearance ran much deeper today. "Lum, where do you keep vanishing to? And why won't you as much as tell me where you're going?"

* * *

Lum landed on one of the platforms in Octo Valley, transitioning from his squid form to his humanoid form as he landed on the firm ground. Behind him, his three allies were present to watch. He moved ahead swiftly, his eyes darting around several times until eventually spotting his targets.

Two Octolings standing in the distance. And yet, Lum sensed a different air to these two. He paused, even their appearance was different. They weren't the other Octolings who rushed him only to get splatted with ease.

Standing far away, the princess felt herself growing amused. "I think he's regarding us with caution, brother."

"If he wasn't cunning, I wouldn't have had to spend all that time studying him." The prince calmly responded, stepping forward. "Let us greet him, this fine day will be a worthy backdrop to his splatting."

"Agent 3." The princess began as she walked forward, her mere gait gave away that she was no common Octoling. With her Octoshot held firmly in her hands, an arrogant, threatening aura seemed to emanate from her. "I've been looking forward to our meeting. Arvis' pitiful blundering is only funny for so long."

Lum watched the two closely. They approached a few more steps before coming to a stop, standing across from him. Standing just far enough away that the ink from his weapon would just barely fall short of them, it seemed like a very calculated distance. The woman who had been speaking seemed to be the leader of the two. As for the other enemy, the other Octoling looked calm, but the most striking thing about the other was...

"I'm sorry, are you..." Lum tilted his head as he regarded the second Octoling. "Are you a boy?"

The prince's nose wrinkled at the question. "In the New Octarian Army, anyone who asks me that gets used as target practice." His hands clenched into fists before relaxing back into open palms. "Yes, I'm an Octoling boy. We aren't extinct."

Despite the obvious fact that violence was about to happen, Lum found himself grinning at his opponent's indignant response. Yet even at that moment, his eyes were looking for a good route of attack once the fight inevitably began.

"You've heard of us before, Agent 3." The prince said, raising a hand to his chin. "Yes, the last time you fought with Arvis, he mentioned the prince and princess he served. They now stand before you." He stretched his arm out, bringing attention to machinery on his wrist. "I am the prince of the Octarian race. My name is Tero."

The princess walked past her brother, giving him an irritated look before returning her focus to their opponent. "I am the princess of our species, as well as our ruler. I am known as Tako."

Lum took note of their names. The princess, Tako, and the prince, Tero. "Your royals? Do you have any relation to that king I took down a while back?"

Tako smirked. "I actually owe you for removing father from the picture." She said coldly. "I despised listening to his music. And he didn't even have the decency to disappear once I reached adulthood, which slowed my own rise to power for far too long. So, thanks for that." She looked down at her weapon. "As a reward for your help, I won't let you suffer too much before the end of today."

Lum was taken aback by the icy disregard Tako had for her father. He looked at the prince, who had a completely impassive look on his face. After a moment, Tero spoke as well.

"I had my own advantages afforded with Octavio's disappearance. My research has been able to expand my leaps and bounds without his ridiculous limitations. You have a certain degree of gratitude from me as well. Your reward will be the privilege of being splatted here and now, and never having to see what we do to your people in Inkopolis." He pointed his arm up, and from the machinery on his wrist a blast of Octarian ink was sent straight up into the air. He smirked at the display. "We are the leaders of the New Octarian Army. If you succeed in splatting us, you'll likely break the Octarians as a military force. Conversely, if we defeat you, there is no other Inkling who could oppose us."

The siblings both pointed their weapons at Lum. The boy just readied his Hero Shot as the showdown was ready to begin.

Without warning, Tako made the first move. Charging forward with her Octoshot in her hands and closing the distance at an insane pace. Once she was nearly in his face, she fired a blast of Octarian ink. Lum easily dodged the first attack, countering with his own attack. His yellow ink covered Tako's own ink and forced her to take a step back.

Before Lum could continue his focus on the princess, Tero came at him from another direction. From his wrist weapon he released a blast of his own ink. Lum shifted to a squid and swam away through the ink he had just laid down. Returning to humanoid form a healthy distance away, he turned and threw a Burst Bomb at the prince.

Tero just took a calm step back and let the explosive spread a small bit of Inkling ink across the area in front of him. Lum stood in the distance, watching the prince intently. Then it occurred to his mind that he had forgotten about Tako. Turning to his left, he saw her standing dangerously close to him. He jumped back to dodge the attack.

He reacted in time to avoid being splatted, but some small droplets of Octarian ink managed to land on his cheek. Retreating from Tako's range, he stood up straight and wiped the ink away with one hand.

Tako smirked. "I'm glad you reacted in time to that attack. I'd have been disappointed if you were defeated that easily."

In the distance, Cuttlefish and his granddaughters were watching the fight.

"Is he...?" Callie began, her eyes riveted on the fight. Normally watching Lum fight was a great sight, but this time she was starting to feel a tinge of concern. "Have they put him on the defensive?" She gulped, Lum normally made a mockery of any small group of Octarians. And he defeated larger groups with only minimal difficulty. Yet these two weren't going down nearly as easily.

Cuttlefish was watching intently. As often as Lum attacked, the two royals seemed to have a counter already prepared. For all the time Cuttlefish had watched Lum in the field, he still found the boy's spur of the moment tactics impressive for an Inkling of his age, as well as probably very difficult to counter for enemies. Yet these two seemed to be able to consistently predict Lum's strategies. The captain found himself growing worried for his young friend.

After some failed attempts to press the attack, Lum managed to make Tero temporarily withdraw with a well aimed Seeker. He turned his attention fully to Tako. The princess attempted to rush Lum, only for him to dart to the side and throw a Splat Bomb. She swiftly evaded the slow explosive and was ready to charge again.

"Are you running out of tricks?" She taunted. "I'm already used to everything you're-" She was cut off by the sound of a beeping from under her foot. She looked down to see that she had just stepped on an Inkmine. "Ah."

Breaking off of her charge, she fled away from the explosion. She only had some ink sprinkle onto the side of her, but when she turned back to her adversary she found a blast of ink coming from Lum's Hero Shot. The ink collided with her torso, knocking her off her feet. The ink from the enemy species was sticky and paralyzing, and severely complicated her ability to stand back up. Her mind was suddenly filled by the very real concern that she might be about to lose this battle. Her opponent was approaching her...

A blast from Tero's weapon forced Lum to back away from his opportunity. He went to the side of his sister and shook his head. "I believe I was quite clear with you when we were traveling to this platform. Do _not_ try to take Agent 3 on by yourself." As his sister returned to a standing position, Tero continued. "My analysis made it clear that he's superior to both of us in a one on one situation no matter what you think, sister. If we are to win, our attack must be coordinated."

Tako snorted in annoyance at her brother's reprimand before standing at the ready. Then, she took a step forward and to the side, letting her brother slip behind her before she charged again.

The movement resulted in Tero's movement momentarily vanishing from Lum's sight. He put his focus primarily on the one he could immediately see, dodging and weaving through her attacks. Her attack, though vicious and unrelenting, couldn't mask the fact that she was starting to feel fatigued. This girl was far more skilled then the other Octolings he had fought, but Lum realized that she must have had no true experience with opponents who could actually last against her, and that fact was starting to affect her.

Yet Lum had made a critical error at momentarily dismissing Tero to focus on Tako. He appeared beside Lum, and attacked with a blast of Octarian ink. Lum managed to narrowly dodge it, but was then struck hard with an attack from Tako. It was the first blow from either of the siblings to land solidly on Lum. He was sent back from the force of the blow, landing on his side upon the metal floor.

"Lum!" Callie called out in a sudden panic. She felt as though something in her abdomen died as the Octarians began to ink the ground around her friend. Tero followed this up with another shot that knocked Lum's Hero Shot from his hands.

Suddenly, Tako made a loud, piercing laugh as she approached her defeated opponent. "And for a second there, I wondered if I needed to start worrying." Lum was struggling to stand up, but the Octarian ink he was laying in was crippling his movement. Tako came up beside him and pointed her weapon. "It's almost disappointing that we'll only be fighting once, boy. I don't know if I've _ever_ enjoyed a fight this much."

"Stop it!" Marie suddenly yelled, grabbing the attention of the siblings. "If you touch one hair on his head, I swear I'll-" She was cut off by Tero firing a blast of ink in the direction of the three observing Inklings. His attack splattered over the handrail in front of them, but Tero's intention had been intimidation rather than actually striking them.

"Quiet, girl." Tako said with a grin. "This is a notable step in my path to supremacy. I'll be splatting your precious 'friend'. Then, I'll enjoy spending the next couple of months tormenting you for opposing my rise to power."

Lum's eyes widened in outrage at what Tako had just said. The thought of Cuttlefish or the two girls enduring torture sparked a legitimate rage in his psyche. An emotion that only deepened as he realized, Hum might also suffer such torment if these two Octarians had their way. Tako and Tero, busy gloating in the face of Lum's team, didn't notice that he was starting to stand up in the paralyzing enemy ink.

Tako continued. "You sent this boy out, expecting him to get results. Then you fret because you think he's going to get hurt. I'd call it heart-warming if it wasn't so idiotically contradicting." She thrust her weapon in Lum's direction, though kept her eyes on Cuttlefish and his granddaughters. "I'll enjoy seeing how the expressions on your faces change with one pull of a trigger."

She fired at her opponent, while relishing the sight on the faces of Lum's friends. Her smile widened for a moment, but then slowly vanished as confusion took hold. Where was that satisfying sound of her opponent being splatted? She turned to see Agent 3, standing up with a strange shield around him.

"A Bubbler." Tero broke his calm persona and gritted his teeth. "Of all the tricks to forget about in the heat of battle, I forget about his shield."

Lum took action immediately, running to his lost Hero Shot. Tako and Tero both fired at him, hoping to frustrate and ruin his attempts to rearm himself by pushing him away. To no avail, he dodged every shot and picked up his weapon just as the Bubbler disappeared.

He turned back to his opponents with an intimidating glare, pointing his weapon at his adversaries. "Nobody..." He began, his words barely a whisper. "Nobody threatens the people in my life."

Behind his goggles, Tero's eyes narrowed. "He's enraged." He turned to his sister. "This is a permutation I couldn't have seen coming. Lacking data to counter an angry Agent 3, we would be wise to make a tactical retreat back to headquarters."

"Retreat?" Tako asked, incredulous at her brother's advice. "I have never been defeated or retreated from a battle in my lifetime. And not even this boy can be the first to make me accept a loss. Let's go, brother." She turned and charged at Lum, oblivious to the fact that Tero wasn't following her.

Running into range, she fired passionately, but her opponent just weaved through her attacks and positioned his weapon right in front of Tako's eyes before firing.

Tako was sent spinning back through the air from the blast of yellow ink. As she flew, the goggles covering her eyes broke off of her face. She landed face-down as the front of her goggles landed beside her with a metallic clanging noise. She began to pick herself up, turning to glare at her opponent, revealing her... golden eyes.

"Whoa." Callie spoke as she saw them. The princess of the Octarian race had ominous golden eyes. Callie wasn't even who Tako was looking at, and she felt slightly intimidated. Tako stood back up, with clenched teeth she looked ready to charge again, but then her brother firmly grabbed her shoulder.

"Do you see, my dear, brainless sister? We are outmatched against an angry Agent 3. Now, follow me in retreat, or try to take him on by yourself." Without waiting for a response, Tero turned and fired a long sheet of his ink before shifting into an octopus and swimming in retreat. Tako fumed, her entire being shaking with rage at the conclusion of the battle.

Eventually, she regained a modicum of composure and took a reluctant step back. "You were just lucky that your friends distracted me. Next time, I will avenge this humiliation in the most painful way imaginable." After a drawn out moment, still not wanting to have to turn her back on an enemy, she finally turned on her heel and followed after her brother.

Lum let out a deep breath as his opponents vanished. Should he follow? That was the closest encounter he had ever had with any Octarian.

"Lum!" He turned to see his allies approaching. Callie reached him first, putting her hands on his shoulders and examining him closely. The glasses she was wearing couldn't hide her somewhat panicked expression. "You're not hurt are you?" She looked past him in the direction his enemies fled, her face creasing with anger at the thought of her friend being hurt.

"I'm fine." Lum assured her. "If anything, I was more worried for you. That girl was threatening to torture all three of you."

Marie tapped Lum's shoulder to get his attention. "We were still fairly safe where we were standing. You were the one who was about to be lost forever." The girl let out a breath, then came a step closer to Lum. "We were all scared to death for you. You can't frighten your friends like that. You're important to us, you have to make sure you stay safe no matter what's at stake in the battle."

Lum thought on the words of both of them and their concern for him for a second. "You don't need to worry. I'll conscious enough of my friend's feelings to keep myself safe. As well as keep our home safe."

After a moment, Callie and Marie's body language loosened, both seemed surprised that they were still so tense. Their faith in his skills in battle were returning. Lum, seeing their relief, smiled at them. After that, Lum took the moment to turn his attention to Cuttlefish. "Well, they got away, but now we know who the Octarian's new leaders are."

Cuttlefish nodded. "I never knew Octavio had any kids. And it looks like those two knew their way around a fight better than any other Octarian you've ever faced." And even in light of the skill that Tako and Tero exhibited, there was always the possibility that the Octarian army might have someone even more skilled. The only reason those two were so dangerous was because their attacks were planned and coordinated, and they covered each other well. But perhaps there was an Octarian out there who could push Lum to his limits in a one on one fight.

"Bucko." The captain's tone was more serious than usual. "It looks like we need to be ready. The Octo-jerks have really upped their game."

Eventually, Lum turned around to look off into the distance. There would be no chasing after his enemies now. But he had defeated them this time. He fought the new leaders of the Octarians, and he had won, no matter how close it had ended up being. And, he was sure as he looked back to see his friends standing beside him, this was just the first of many defeats he would hand them.

* * *

Hum sighed as she looked at her brother sleeping. He had come back in the later part of the day, acting like nothing had happened. As usual, he tried to deflect his sister's questions. For the time being Hum was satisfied to just know her brother was home and safe, but she still burned to know where he was going. And she would have been willing to try to single handedly win that tower game in Ranked battle without any training beforehand just for the chance to know what Lum was doing.

Perhaps her deeper fear today had proven groundless, but it didn't make her like the situation any more. She'd rather shoulder Lum's problems with him. While Lum could take a sarcastic attitude toward her problems, he was a loyal sibling when things were serious. As Lum slept in his bed, Hum reached out and petted the covers on top of his shoulder.

"I just hope it'll be soon that he tells me where he vanishes to. I can't remember the last thing he refused to confide in me about." She raised a hand to trace it across the thick black lines around her eyes. "Older siblings are supposed to look out for their younger siblings. But it's hard to do that when I have no idea where he's going."

One could see a slight bit of exhaustion etched onto Lum's sleeping face. The sight bothered Hum, who knew, without knowing how she knew, that Lum was doing something dangerous when he vanished. Sometimes she was angry at Lum's disappearances, and at other times she wanted an opportunity to help him with his troubles.

Hum had her own ambitions and personal dreams in life that she wanted to achieve, her life didn't revolve around her brother. But her family was a very big factor in her life, and she couldn't be satisfied if she wasn't sure that the people she cared for were also safe and happy.

She turned her head to look at the shelf opposite of Lum's bed. The Octoling plush she had bought for him recently was there. It had looked silly and cute when she first bought it, for some reason, it was now birthing a nameless feeling in Hum's mind. She tapped a finger to her chin as she looked back at Lum.

"I wonder..."

* * *

Back home, deep in their mother base, Tako remained enraged hours after the fact. The wall was lit up with a recording of the battle, Tero was already working on studying what he could from that minimal moment of Agent 3 growing furious with his opponents. It was an alteration to his psyche that would heavily change his fighting style, and Tero needed to have as much understanding as possible as to how his methodology would change.

Keu stood near his princess, mostly hidden in the shadows by the throne. "Be at peace, my lady." He soothed. "You shall prevail in the end. As you always have. The legend of your rule is only beginning."

Tako shot her servant a glance as he seemed to dissipate into thin air, but felt her rage subsiding somewhat. Keu was right in that Tako always got what she wanted in the end. She began to make a cruel smile as she envisioned her next meeting with Agent 3.

"Hah." Arvis began, watching the screens. He seemed satisfied enough with the day's results that his mouth seemed to be wandering. "They couldn't defeat him either. Perhaps now my brainless masters will rethink how critical they've been of my-"

"Arvis!" Tako yelled, making the Octarian jump in fear. He hadn't realized he had been voicing his thoughts aloud. He turned to his princess, quivering in fear.

He swallowed, then in an almost comically shaky voice, he spoke. "N-n-now princess. I-I didn't m-m-mean anything b-by that, and-"

Tako rose from her throne, memories of her defeat earlier today still all too fresh in her mind. She began to advance on her loose-lipped underling. "Saying something like that at all was a poor decision on your part. But your sense of timing was _painfully_ bad."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	13. Clue Hunting

**Disclaimer: I own OCs. Everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

"At least he's staying home today." Hum noted as she was window shopping past Booyah Base. Today Lum did something he almost never did, decide to sit out on the Turf Wars today. He claimed he just wasn't in the mood today, but Hum could tell that he was exhausted from something. Whatever he did yesterday when he disappeared had clearly drained him. That fact bothered Hum, and while one part of her was getting used to this, another part of her wanted this all to end.

Still, he was safe and sound at their home today. Hum uncharacteristically decided to come to the plaza by herself. Not to participate or watch the Turf Wars, of course. Today, she was clue hunting. She couldn't stand to not know where Lum kept vanishing to, so if Lum wasn't joining the Turf Wars today, she would take the time to hunt for answers regarding where he was going.

The only places Hum knew that her brother frequented were their house and the plaza. She could hunt around the house later, and maybe even grill Lum as to exactly what that strange uniform was. For now, she wanted to investigate the other place Lum regularly went to.

Logically, she should talk to the shopkeepers first. The other locals were unlikely to be much help. The Inklings who collected daily here, the ones that participated in the Turf Wars at least, weren't big fans of Lum. More than a few of them resented Lum for his incredibly skills, and Hum also knew that some resentments went deeper because Pyrot and Cranch spread false rumors about him. She didn't have hard proof that the two were doing it, but it was obvious who was spreading the stories.

So her work began, slowly talking to each of the shopkeepers in Booyah Base. The results weren't promising at first, Moe kept drowning out anything Annie tried to say. Sheldon kept trying to change the subject to his precious weapons no matter how unambiguous Hum was in saying that she wasn't interested. Then Crusty Sean somehow thought the question pertained to shoes in some shape or form.

But with Jolenzo, she started to find something she could work with.

"Bwah? Your brother?" The jellyfish said in his thick accent. He rubbed a tentacle at the spot where a chin would have been on an Inkling before walking to the glass at the front of his store. "Sometimes I seeing him run to the tower. But then he goes to the side right before the incline up." Hum's eyes widened with a bit of hopefulness, it was a very possible clue for her. "Never knowing what he's doing, but he does it every couple of days."

"But then... do you know what he does when he goes to the side?" Hum asked, feeling a little hopeful. Though that hope was dashed when Jolenzo just shrugged. Hum sighed, then offered her thanks for the information before excusing herself.

Back outside, Hum looked to the side of the tower's front. There was an unremarkable corner, where the only notable feature was some trash cans, a vending machine, and a grate. Perhaps this was a dead end of her little investigation? Or maybe not, perhaps someone else had an idea or two of where Lum went. If she could talk to someone in a position to hear lots of rumors...

* * *

Spyke tapped his finger on the rug he sat on as Hum approached. His eyes darted to his screwdriver once. He knew this girl, and his first thought was that the reason he was being approached was simply an attempt to put an end to his 'vile' diet of Super Sea Snails. Though he felt a small prickle of curiosity at the fact that Hum wasn't with her brother today.

"I need to ask you something." Hum began calmly enough, though there was a subtle bit of confrontational attitude in her voice. She still didn't like Spyke at all.

"Wif that attitude?" Spyke asked. "My services don't come free. Especially for you. It'll cost-"

"Give me the information I want, and you won't see me for the next month." Hum said, then added. "Maybe two."

Spyke blinked once, his more easily visible eye searching Hum's face. He half-suspected that this girl might go back on her word, but also knew he couldn't waste the opportunity. He nodded once. "Wot do you want to know?"

"My brother." Hum said plainly. "He has a way of disappearing from time to time. Do you know anything about where he disappears to?"

The urchin tapped a finger to his rug. "That Lum bloke?" He was taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "While waiting for me to work on their equipment, my... 'customers' talk freely, and I hear a lot of t'ings."

Hum waited for Spyke to get to whatever point he was trying to get at. "Like the Zapfish. You know the Great Zapfish and all of the little ones vanished some time ago. Word is they were kidnapped by someone."

Hum remembered how the Zapfish had all disappeared. But they all returned before anyone could get truly worried. She also remembered that Lum's disappearing tricks started happening as soon as the Zapfish vanished. Not for the first time, she wondered if there was a connection between the two.

"Whatever blokes stole the Zapfish clearly didn't have the best intentions of any of us in the city at heart. So it must have been someone who didn't like the squids in this city."

Hum was wondering how any of this directly correlated to her brother, and then she realized what Spyke may have been getting at. Her eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting my brother would join up with someone who would do that?"

Spyke shrugged. "I've heard enough of your protective speeches do know how often he's been taken advantage of. Who's to say he wouldn't try to retaliate?"

Hum made a small growl, Spyke made a quiet chuckle. "Or maybe, he's the reason we got the Zapfish back at all." Hum's eyes flashed with anger at Spyke's flippant attempt to cool the waters, though she did inwardly acknowledge that, considering Lum's skill with a weapon, that was a possibility.

"So, assuming that Lum was fighting with any group, what was the group?"

The urchin shook his head. "Dunno. Can you think of any blokes who would enjoy the city falling to misfortune?"

Hum's mind debated on possible answers. She could have seen Pyrot and Cranch doing it, just to feel like they had power over everyone else. Yet that was a little much to expect them to pull off. At the same time, no one else really sprang to mind. The world didn't have any real large scale 'bad guys' in it anymore. Not ever since the...

Her eyes widened in a possible realization. Lum loved History, and he loved reading about the Great Turf War. Was it possible? The Octarians? She blinked once to dismiss the thought, the question as to who stole the Zapfish was less important than the question of where Lum kept vanishing to.

Still, she had some new information to work with, now was the time to look into what Jolenzo had suggested to her. She turned to leave...

"'Ey." Spyke called after her. "At least one month without me having to see you, remember."

Hum looked back at him with a grin. "Don't worry, I told a few Sea Snail lovers around the city that you're still doing what you're doing. They'll fill in for me for the next month."

Spyke gritted his teeth.

* * *

The grate, then. Hum was standing on top of it. One rumor claimed that an elderly Inkling would occasionally come out of it and watch the Inklings in the plaza. Hum had always rolled her eyes at that story, but as she stood on top of it, she found herself wondering what the path under the grate led to. All she saw underneath it was pitch black darkness. If Jolenzo was correct in saying that Lum had a habit of ducking to this area, then nothing more than a quick shift to her squid form might answer the mystery she has longed to have an answer to.

"Doing something, idiot?"

Hum's eyes jerked up at the sound of an insult, uttered by a familiar voice. She turned to see Pyrot standing not far from her. Near him were the lackeys of his that she never cared to learn the names of. Anyone who attached themselves to Pyrot weren't worth learning about.

"Just thinking about my brother." Hum said truthfully without giving any important facts away. Watching Pyrot closely, she realized she was cornered. If Pyrot should choose violence...

Pyrot looked around. Hum immediately realized he was looking for Lum. Not seeing what he expected, Pyrot scoffed. "I can't remember the last time you came to the plaza without him. Is the pipsqueak dead? Please say yes."

Hum bit back the indignant response she wanted to give. "Lum wasn't in the mood today. I'm dealing with errands in the plaza."

The boy across from her smirked and stepped forward. "Everything in the plaza revolves around the Turf Wars. Someone who doesn't participate in them wouldn't be here at all. What are you _really_ here for?" He kept walking forward, eventually prompting Hum to back up, until she backed straight up into the vending machine in the corner. She took a second to turn her head to the side to register the lack of space behind her, then turned back to Pyrot, who had stopped directly on top of the grate. "Perhaps you came to spy on me? Is Lum so scared of losing that he needs information?" Beside him, his followers made various 'ooh' sounds, like they were learning of some great conspiracy.

The girl's forehead creased. "There's something inherently funny in how you try to attribute something like that to my brother. Especially since you lose to him all the time. And I mean _all_ the time." Pyrot's expression hardened in rage at the words. As Hum considered commenting further, she suddenly noticed the grate that Pyrot was standing on was moving. "By the way, maybe you shouldn't stand there, Pyrot."

Pyrot raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head. "What in the world did that me-"

Suddenly the grate rose up, resulting in Pyrot falling off and landing hard on the concrete as his followers moved to his side. From the now open hole under the grate, an elderly Inkling had appeared. This bug-eyed man raised a hand to scratch at the hat he wore. "I wonder when the bucko will come on down again?" He looked toward the plaza, not noticing the crowd around him. "Lum is-"

"'Lum is'?" Hum asked, drawing the immediate attention of the old man. "How the heck do you know my brother's name?"

The elderly Inkling took a drawn out look at Hum, then in seeming panic, fell back down with the grate slamming back into position. Hum immediately ran on top of the grate and was about to follow the elder in her squid form, then heard a groan of discomfort. Pyrot was slowly in the process of standing back up, one hand gripped at the back of his head in evident pain.

Realizing that she could be trapped again if she wasted the opportunity, Hum disregarded the grate in favor of running past the still disoriented Pyrot. One of his followers tried to grab Hum as she ran past them, but his hands only grabbed empty air as Hum managed to speed away.

* * *

"Remind me never to go to the plaza without a certain Aerospray-toting brother of mine." Hum mumbled to herself as she entered into her house. Inside, Lum was reclining on the sofa in his squid form. His yellow form had flopped onto the cushion, oblivious to the investigation his sister had undertaken today, as well as the possible danger Hum had faced.

Sitting down near him, Hum had to smile a little at how cute Lum looked like that. Judging by how he didn't respond to her presence at all, she guessed he was asleep. Hum leaned back on the sofa as she recovered from her brush with possible danger today. Pyrot really didn't have any scruples at all. She turned her head to look back at Lum.

One day of investigation, and she was already closing in on where Lum was going when he disappeared. Just give it a few more days, she was sure, and she'd know exactly what he was doing. For now, though, she felt content for them to both be at the house for a little while.

Her life had managed to find a consistent routine of entertaining her own interests and pursuits, being a good daughter to her parents, and trying to look out for her brother. There were some things she wished were different, there were some people that she wished had never come into her life, but on a whole, she was content with this. She enjoyed her life, and she got on very well with her brother, despite the occasional squabble.

Yet, as she looked at the furniture scattered around the living room, at the clocks and paintings hung up on the walls, she couldn't shake the feeling that her life was on the verge of a drastic change.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	14. Assault

**Not to get too sidetracked with talking about recent events, but it looks like a victory for those who wanted pants and hairstyles in Splatoon.**

 **Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

In the camp, Cuttlefish was carefully examining his radar to check for Octarian activity. Today, he was the only member of the team down here. His granddaughters were spending today in their usual life as the Squid Sisters, while Agent 3 was doing... whatever he did in Inkopolis. With clear skies overhead, and nothing being registered on his radar, it looked like it was going to be an uneventful day in the valley by himself.

Perhaps that was for the best. The last time there had been action down here, it proved to be quite the close call. Agent 3 came closer to being splatted then he ever had before, and they came face to face with the new leaders of the Octarians. Princess Tako and Prince Tero, the children of their king, Octavio. They seemed very different from their father, and both seemed much more dangerous than he had been.

And neither of them had any sense of loyalty to their father. Both claimed that their lives had improved once Octavio was gone. The two had escaped the battle from a few days ago, but it was only a matter of time before they appeared again. Agent 3 had defeated them in the first encounter, and one could only hope that he would win in any and all future encounters as well.

Cuttlefish lazily let his mind wander back to Agent 3's first adventures in the Valley. The older days of finding Zapfish and taking back the Zapfish that the Octarians had stolen. The boy even managed to destroy the secretly rebuilt Great Octoweapons. Even after Octavio managed to kidnap the Captain, Agent 3 kept up the hard work, leading to a great victory for the Inklings. Though their defeating Octavio was what let Tako and Tero become powerful figures among the Octarians.

Where exactly they were headquartered was still a mystery. Cuttlefish had tried to use his radars to find some clues as to what bases they might be collecting in, but nothing had come up so far. Under the royal children, the Octarians had become much more elusive, to the point that it seemed nearly every battle was the Inklings playing defense. The Inklings had, at the very least, been the victor of every battle with this newly organized army.

With no activity being detected by the radar, Cuttlefish turned toward a nearby crabby cake. Deciding to give himself a lunch break, he approached the article of food... and then it was suddenly covered in an ink color all too recognizable.

Cuttlefish snapped to the side to see an Octarian standing nearby. With his distinctive male build and notable signs of tech, it could have only been Prince Tero.

"Such an archaic system you use to detect our presence." Tero scoffed, looking at Cuttlefish's radar, sitting defenseless not far from them. "Do you have any idea how childishly easy it is for me to render us invisible to your radar?"

More Octarians appeared, spreading out and surrounding the Inkling captain. He noticed both Princess Tako and the strategist, Arvis, among the group. Arvis walked forward on his small legs and smirked.

"We have business in your city, Inkling. And it would be undesirable if you had any way to alert that boy to the fact that we're coming." Arvis turned to the side, looking at the grate nearby, nodding to himself. "So, this is the pathway that connects to Inkopolis. I wonder what your kind would do if they knew we were coming."

"Jester strategist, can we try to get a picture of Agent 3 out of his Agent uniform while we're up there?" One of the two Octotroopers that frequently followed Arvis questioned. It only prompted an annoyed look from the tactician.

"We are not there to collect merchandise, you scallops." Arvis shot back.

The Octotrooper tilted his head, his superior's anger not registering on him. "You know, Arvis, me and my friend have names. We're Amph and Tus."

Arvis looked ready to make a furious response, but a powerful voice cut him off. A voice courtesy of their loved and feared princess.

"Are you finished yet?" Were her first words. "This strike force has been assembled for the purpose of conquering a fraction of Inkopolis. If just momentarily." She turned her head to look over the team. Herself, her brother, Arvis, the two Octotroopers who followed Arvis, and a collection of rookie Octolings. The rationale there was to see if any of them had hidden talent that would be useful in the future. Under Tako, soldiers proved had to prove their usefulness immediately. "We aren't there to take their Zapfish or any other resource of theirs. I just want to send Agent 3 a message." She turned back to Cuttlefish. "As for this relic, just make sure he can't contact anyone in Inkopolis. The element of surprise will be important today."

She walked away to the path Agent 3 used to enter and exit the valley. "If we use this, we'll appear in an area too obvious, won't we?"

"Not a problem, sister." Tero calmly responded. "The attack has already been planned out. I've already examined the structure underneath the grate. It has more than one destination we can reach. Merely follow my lead."

Tako glanced at her brother. She disliked the casual tone he spoke to her with, but knew that his sense of planning could be relied upon. Turning back to the grate, she gave the order. "Forward."

* * *

One large truck bound for Inkopolis was driving down the highway. Inside, two Inklings were in the front. One at the steering wheel, the other casually reclining in the nearby seat. Behind them was the trailer, loaded with various pieces of merchandise to be supplied to the city. A variety of outfit pieces for a future sale in the stores of Booyah Base had been neatly folded and placed into the boxes, some of the articles of clothing had not yet seen any sort of public release. It was a simple enough job of getting objects from the factory to the stores, with plenty of money in it for the delivery-men. And, as an added precaution, a small team of guards was in the back.

In the trailer, security patrolled moderately tightly amongst the cargo boxes. They stuck to their patrol routes just in case someone should try to break in, but the security detail was exceptionally relaxed. Even as they walked, they were sharing jokes and giving each other friendly little nudges as they passed each other. One had even zoned out of the world, listening to some music on her headphones. As they made their unprofessionally casual rounds, they were oblivious to a certain color of ink pushing through the pipes above them.

Suddenly, a strange purple ink fell from the floor splattered on the floor, catching them all by surprise. Within the splatter was one semi-solid looking object. It looked vaguely like a squid, much like the form the Inklings assumed, yet distinctly different. If anything it looked like an... octopus?

Quickly the object began to take a humanoid shape. The team looked on in shock, and then realization dawned in the eyes of one of them.

"Octarians!"

Tako smirked, her eyes narrowing in joy behind her goggles. "Destroy the Inklings."

Without warning, more Octarians began pouring from above, taking form and immediately moving to attack the Inklings. Tako considered the resistance she faced admirable, but not the skills. She had been looking forward to a challenge from the Inkling race, but this group of Inklings began to fall entirely too easily.

It would be a lie to say these Inklings were inept. They knew how to use their weapons, that much was clear, but they were almost cartoonishly unorganized. Rather than fight as a coordinated team, Tako found herself up against fifteen, no, roughly twenty independent attackers. Some of the Inklings were trying to give orders, their problem was that they couldn't decide who their leader should be, and eventually they all just broke off to fight solo.

A few of the Inklings tried to keep their distance, focusing on throwing Splat Bombs and other longer range options. Unfortunately they were attacked from above by Octarians who had scaled the crates of cargo on Arvis' orders. Others attempted to rush their opponents, but Tako was a far too skilled and brutal opponent for Inklings of this level of ability to try such a tactic.

The Inklings strategies were incredibly basic, Arvis noted. Despite being one of the individually weakest members of the team, his orders allowed for a coordinated attack that made a mockery of his opponents. Arvis found the sight of his plans succeeding a thrill to see. A thrill blunted by the knowledge that it was only exciting to see because of the constant defeats he had been handed by Agent 3's team.

Some of the rookie Octolings struggled, many of whom had never seen a battle outside of training before. A small handful of them ended up being splatted by the Inkling security. Tero, even as he shot down one Inkling trying to escape to a safe spot in his squid form, was growing annoyed at how much help the rank and file needed to attain victory. Yet a small handful of the Octolings were proving themselves competent. With the assistance of Tako and Tero, and the orders of Arvis, they swiftly prevailed over their opponents.

Tako grunted in annoyance at the results. "It's almost unbelievable that this species somehow produced Cuttlefish's third Agent." Offended at the ease of the battle, Tako spread some ink around and took a few steps forward. She found herself having to temper her expectations. Perhaps it was only Agent 3 among the enemy species who could truly push her in battle. "The infiltration so far has been too easy."

Standing not far from her, Tero smirked as he adjusted his wrist blaster, continuous maintenance would ensure that it functioned perfectly in future battles. "Yes, sister. It's unbelievable to think that Inklings who have no idea that we're coming, some of whom have likely never seen an Octarian before, wouldn't provide much of a challenge to us." His smile widened as he spoke his next words. "Perhaps you prefer bullying other Inklings around, due to being frightened of encountering Agent 3 a second time?"

Tako made a small snarl at her brother's sarcastic words. The boy had always derived a little too much enjoyment out of taking shots at his sister like this. As she turned away, Tero looked to the door in front of them. Presumably the drivers were still unaware of their presence, even if the firefight had been fairly loud. The plan had been to stow away on the truck until it had entered the city. Once the vehicle came to a stop, they would abandon any precept of stealth and make their presence in the city public knowledge, all just to give Agent 3 a message.

Ideally, they wouldn't have even attacked the security during the infiltration, but during the planning Tako had erupted into protest at the mere idea of not fighting when enemies were there. And, being the most highly ranked member of the army, she had overruled Tero's original suggestion. So an early fight they had. The next phase of the plan was simply a waiting game. At the very least, by the time these Inklings respawned, the plan would have progressed to a point that no word from them would have hindered the Octarian plot.

As Tero continued to reflect on the plan's progress, he didn't notice that one solitary member of the security team hadn't been splatted. The Inkling raised her gun and pointed it at the prince's back. With one pull of the trigger she could avenge her team's embarrassing defeat.

"Get away from my prince!" One random Octoling suddenly shouted, firing her Octoshot and striking the Inkling with a blow that splatted her. Tero looked in the direction the Inkling had been in, then slowly turned to the Octoling that had acted in his defense.

At a glance, she didn't look any more promising a soldier then the other Octolings that had been selected to accompany the attack. Yet Tero took a moment to use his goggles to review the footage of the fight with the truck's security. This one Octoling had taken out a significant portion of the security detail with minimal assistance. And now that very Octoling had been observant enough to finish off an Inkling trying to strike at him. This evident talent was worth taking note of.

"What is your name, soldier?"

"Arie-ow!" The girl had tried to salute as she spoke, but succeeded only in hitting herself in the face. She then made a slower, safer salute. "Arielle, my prince. This is my first assignment as a full fledged Octoling soldier."

"Arielle." Tero repeated her name. The girl gulped audibly, unsure of what the prince would do next. "I am bothering to remember your name. Make sure you continue to give me a reason to do so."

The girl stood a little straighter at the words and tried to speak, but no words came from her mouth. Turning a little red in embarrassment at her lack of words, she eventually just nodded vigorously.

Tero turned away to find Arvis giving a report.

"No sound has come from the drivers. I assume they remain unaware of our presence." The jester tactician reasoned, turning to the door. He made a wicked grin at what was about to happen. "In a few hours, we can demonstrate to Agent 3 just what the price for crossing us is."

* * *

Lum stretched his arms, enjoying the feeling of his muscles loosening after intense playing. His sister came beside him as he began to transition back to his normal standing position, flicking his wrists slightly as he looked up at the tower.

"Fun games, today." He smirked, today has been almost all victories. Though he could have gone without the matches where it felt as though he was babysitting three unskilled Inklings. "Before we head home, maybe we can swing by Inkopolis' arcade. There's a new game I'd be interested in-"

"You can't play it." Hum said, drawing a confused look from her brother. She smiled, with a distinctive playful air to it. "Don't you know, Lum? The Color Palette Standardization Art from last month outlawed playing any video game with more colors then just shades of gray and brown." She nudged her brother's hip with her elbow. "You'll have to play Call of Squidty, and you should be _grateful_ that you can play anything at all."

Lum's forehead creased. "I should slap you for that one, sister."

Hum made a small giggle at her brother's annoyance. "Where's your sense of humor, Lum?"

He sighed once. "Six feet under right now." He angled his head up to look at the Great Zapfish. The mammoth fish tilted its head in curiosity as it noticed Lum looking at it. He wondered if perhaps the thing could recognize him as its rescuer. He turned away from it. "So then, the arcade, Hum?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you want, we come to this section of Inkopolis for your sake, after all.

Lum thought for a moment. He would have wanted to drop by the arcade, but something in him compelled him to suggest something else. "Do you want to practice with your violin?"

Hum had a chance to be caught completely off-guard. "What...? Lum? I have been wanting to practice, but... what made you suggest that?"

It was Lum's turn to shrug. "You spend way too much time just being my tagalong. You have things you want to do to, right?"

A smile, a much less mischievous smile, grew on Hum's face. While Lum could be annoying from time to time, and there were times she could live without his sense of humor, he was a really considerate brother. Today he wanted to be her tagalong for a change. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "If you insist, Lum."

* * *

"Hey, is that them outside?" Callie observed through the window of the studio. One male and female Inkling, distinctive with their rich yellow hair, were walking away from the tower. With that memorable shade of hair color, and the glasses that both of them were wearing, it had to have been Lum and Hum.

Marie stood somewhat out of her chair to see, then gave a half-smirk as she recognized Lum and his sister. They interacted with Lum often enough in Octo Valley, but had only been able to interact with Hum once, but Callie and Marie has both enjoyed speaking to Hum on that single instance.

As they sat at their table, Marie was grabbed by a small desire to go out and greet both of them, but she knew it would cause an embarrassing scene for everyone if she did. One of the Squid Sisters just heading out and speaking to two random Inklings in the plaza? There would be endless undesirable rumors about that, rumors that Lum and Hum didn't need to have to put up with. She would just wait for a chance to talk to them. For Lum, she could just wait until the next time they were all down in Octo Valley again. For Hum... she'd just have to wait and see if life would be willing to give them another opportunity to talk.

Although the last time they had gone down to Octo Valley hadn't been pleasant at all. Both Callie and Marie had been legitimately frightened that Lum was going to finally be turned into an inky stain. He had managed to pull through, but Marie didn't want to see him have such a close call ever again.

"Marie? Marie?" Callie asked, sounding like she had called her cousin's name several times, and she likely had. Marie shook her head of her current thoughts.

"Yes, what is it?"

Callie gave an amused grin, and looked like she was biting back some quip she wanted to make at Marie's sudden lack of focus. Fortunately, she just moved on to what she was originally saying. "I was thinking that, after what happened last time, we could give Lum his own little private show the next time we're all down in the valley."

Marie tapped a finger to a cheek as she thought about the suggestion, then slowly smiled. "That might be fun. I'd enjoy anything that puts him in a good mood." She looked at Lum and Hum as they left the plaza, then slowly turned back to her cousin to find Callie giving her a grin.

"Is there some... special reason you want Lum to be in a good mood?" Callie asked. "Maybe the same reason you put his head in your lap not too long ago?"

"What..? No." Marie answered swiftly once she realized what Callie was implying. "Nothing like that ever crossed my mind." She sighed, slightly annoyed with her cousin suggesting she had special feelings. Granted, Lum was rather attractive for a boy of his age, and he had a noble character as well. Marie looked back at Callie. "Why did you ask? Trying to see if you have competition?"

Callie's grin only slightly dropped. "Oh, no real reason." She turned away. "I was just thinking that-"

That was as far as she got. An explosion sounded off in the distance. Both girls turned to see one section of the city with a large amount of ominously familiar purple ink suddenly coating it.

* * *

"I hate stealth operations." Tako mumbled as her little brigade stood on top of the warehouse the truck had stopped in. "But at least now I can stretch, and maybe vent a little."

She looked down at the ground below there, a few scores of Inklings were there, their eyes riveted on these bizarre trespassers in their city. Tako grinned in anticipation before her brother grabbed her shoulder.

"You just remember to keep your head on straight." Tero cautioned. "Our goal is to commander a section of Inkopolis, but only briefly. We want Agent 3 to understand, that we can attack his turf just as easily as he can attack ours."

Tako made one small 'humph' at her brother's words. "I know what we're here for, brother dear." She looked down at the Inklings massing between them. "But I'm still going to take the time to let some of my anger flow onto the common squids." Taking a step forward, she suddenly leapt off the side of the building. She smiled grimly as she plummeted to the ground.

Landing firmly, she immediately fired her weapon straight into the crowd. Several members of the Inkling race were instantly splatted by Tako's attack. The Inklings, their brains realizing that they were now under attack by an unknown group, collectively turned to flee.

"Yes, get ready for a chance to respawn." Tako said as her allies landed on the ground near her. "And with every shot we fire, let Agent 3 know that I want to settle the score."

Tero frowned slightly. He had no issue with this attack, but Tako's almost childish need to nurse her wounded pride was distasteful to him. He slowly turned to Arielle, who flinched with surprise at Tero looking at her. "Get out there and show me that your performance in the truck was not a fluke."

* * *

All throughout Inkopolis, whatever show might have been broadcasting on a TV was suddenly cut short to make room for an emergency broadcast. Callie and Marie, who frequently appeared to announce the current battlefields for the Turf Wars, were speaking of something far more dire.

"Octarians inside Inkopolis!" Callie shouted on the TV screen. "Everyone, get yourself to safety immediately!"

"Don't try to take them on yourself." Marie added to Callie's warning. "These Octarians are clearly professionals. Run as far away from them as you can."

The broadcast ended almost as quickly as it came on. Callie and Marie looked at each other in the studio, Callie audibly gulping. "It's not that they're 'clearly' professionals, but it's obvious who's leading this little assault."

Marie nodded. An attack this bold had to have come from those royals, Tako and Tero. In the back of her mind, Marie was worried for their grandfather, for the Octarians would have had to get past Cuttlefish before they could enter the city. The camp was right beside the only route from Octo Valley to Inkopolis. The front of her mind, however, was concerned with how they would get into contact with the one who had the best chance of fighting off this invasion.

"Please tell me Lum was looking at a TV when we made that broadcast." Marie whispered to herself as both she and Callie began to put on their Agent gear.

* * *

Hum's eyes widened in shock as an out of nowhere foreign attack was laying waste to a considerable chunk of Inkopolis. A few Inklings filled with daring were trying to fight the Octarians, in direct defiance of the emergency broadcast's instructions, but were getting pitiful results at best. The Octarian team were doing a good job at digging their heels into their position and beating back any attempts made to strike at them.

At this moment, Hum focused on her most immediate problem. She turned to her brother. "We have to get home immediately. We should just hide until this is over." She jerked at Lum's arm. "Someone will be able to defeat them, then we can go on with our days like usual." She was trying to pull at her little brother's arm, but he wasn't budging. "Lum, listen to your big sister!"

Lum turned to her with a look that gave her pause. The siblings were quite in tune with each other, and that look alone gave Hum a detailed picture of what Lum was thinking. "Lum, no! You can't-"

He pulled himself free of his sister's grip. "I can do this, Hum. You know how good I am."

"You're good in Turf Wars, Lum." Hum countered. She was trying to keep her voice calm, but it still shook at the thought of what Lum was wanting to do. "This is something completely different. Besides, most of the people in danger are probably the same Inklings who emotionally hurt you." She looked away, not liking reminding Lum of it, but needing to make her point. "Pyrot, and Cranch, and others. You don't need to go out of your way for their benefit."

Lum shook his head in disagreement. "I shouldn't be picky about who I help, and..." Thoughts of Cuttlefish, Callie, and Marie appeared in his head. "I have friends to defend."

"Friends?" Hum asked. Before she could get any more information, Lum had shifted to his squid form and Super-Jumped toward the disturbance. "What friends do you have?"

* * *

"Yes! Yes!" Arvis felt the deepest delight as a pincer attack he ordered splatted a considerable number of Inklings. "My strategies are flawless. Everything is working our perfectly! Agent 3 and his team may have succeeded in lucking out against me a few times in the past, but now my genius is on display once again." Under his command, even the two Octotroopers, Amph and Tus, were achieving considerable results. Reveling in the first success he had tasted in quite some time, Arvis didn't notice a group of Inklings approaching him from a blind spot.

A laser sight was on Arvis' back. Pyrot grinned. "Too easy." He quipped at the sight before him. A clearly ranking member of this strange attack force had left himself wide open. His thoughts were already on the accolades he, his loyal lackies, and Cranch would doubtlessly get when they finished fighting off the Octarians. His finger began to slowly pull the trigger, but then a blast of purple ink knocked his weapon out of his hand. Pyrot turned as Tero approached him.

Of course, Pyrot didn't know this Octoling's name, he just saw what was clearly a high ranking member of this attack squad. Tero calmly folded his arms behind his back as Pyrot was scooting away. Audibly gulping, Pyrot turned to his allies. "W-what are you waiting for? Splat him!" Springing into action, Cranch attempted to swing his Roller down upon his enemy, only for his weapon, much like Pyrot's, to be shot out of his hand.

Arielle appeared alongside her prince. Tero made a side glance at this girl, who seemed a little protective of her liege. After that, he turned back to the opposing Inklings. "Did you attack us seeking glory? Did you take one second to consider how low the probability of your success was?" With one blast from his wrist weapon, he splatted Cranch. He went on from there, taking out the Inklings that followed Pyrot, before eventually getting to Pyrot himself, smirking a little. Then Tero's nose wrinkled at a sudden stench, and looked down at Pyrot's shorts.

"Did you just... ink yourself in fear?" Tero asked, slightly repulsed. Impulsively he fired his weapon, sending Pyrot to his own respawn point. Not far from them, Arvis was gleefully moving to his next strategy, oblivious to the close call he had just had.

Briefly stretching his arms to loosen the muscles, Tero took note that today, as hectic as it had been, was actually boring him. He imagined his sister felt much the same way, their opponents in Inkopolis were nothing like Agent 3.

In fact, the greatest thing that had come out of today so far, was that Arielle had come to his attention. The other rookie Octolings they had taken with them were average, barely. Arielle, standing next to him, however, was proving herself to be something else. There might be quite a future for this girl.

On top of the building the Octarians had jumped down from, Lum landed in his squid form. This would be the first time he would fight the Octarians outside of his Agent garb, and today he only had the Aerospray PG, not the Hero Shot he normally fought the Octarians with. Yet those facts barely registered in his psyche.

"Even if by myself, I will do whatever it takes to defeat the Octarians."

* * *

 **If you can't tell, this next story will be split into several parts. Stay tuned.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, please review.**


	15. Battle on The Home Turf

**Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else is credit to Nintendo.**

* * *

Lum nodded to himself, his Aerospray in hand. This was not the weapon he normally used to fight the Octarians with, but he didn't have time to go back to his house to get his usual gear. What he had on hand would have to suffice.

It was a little strange to not at least have his familiar headpiece, and not have the captain and his fellow agents speaking to him from elsewhere as he fought his enemies today. He was sure that his team were all responding to this event in their own away. His thoughts briefly turned to Cuttlefish, whom the Octarians had to have gotten past to get into the city, but he quickly shook it off after a moment of reflection.

He'd have to worry about Cuttlefish later. For now, he had to fight off this attack. Below him a squadron of Octarians who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere were trying to sack Inkopolis. As perhaps the only one in the entire city who was deeply familiar with fighting Octarians, he knew he had to be the one to do this.

His body oozed into ink and took the form of a squid as he leapt off the side of the building. From there, the only place to go was straight down.

* * *

"Perhaps we've done enough." Tero calculated as he watched the soldiers laying waste to the enemy city. The floor was coated almost entirely with Octarian ink, with only the rare sprinkle of Inkling ink dotting the carpet they were now standing on. They had succeeded in perfectly occupying this section of the city. He briefly wondered if they could hold on to it if the Inklings managed a more coordinated assault, then disregarded that thought immediately. They hadn't attacked Inkopolis to test out such a theory.

He tilted his head upward, ignoring the chaotic area around him in favor of appreciating the scenery. The calming blue sky was something he rarely saw off of a monitor. He was far more used to being resigned to the underground in Octo Valley. Had the Great Turf War ended with the opposite result, the clean aboveground air and pleasant scenery of the sky would be ordinary to him.

As the random Inklings continued to try and flee from their attackers, Tero was lightly baffled that this was the species who had defeated his in the old war. But then, he remembered, the Octarians had been dominate during the first period of the war, but the rug had been pulled out from under them in time. Furthermore, these people had produced Agent 3. The Inklings could be dangerous if they were given the chance.

Yet, in Tero's judgment, the time to withdraw had come. Let this attack be known to Agent 3, wherever that boy was. He had attacked them on their home turf many times, but the Octarians could also easily invade his city anytime they pleased, and they would-

"Prince! Prince Tero!" Arvis run past Tero and began to cower on the other side of Tero's legs. "A-a boy over there! He's completely destroying our unit!" He peeked out to point his two tentacles in the direction of the aforementioned boy. "I tried to lure him into a pincer attack with a decoy. He just splatted the decoy, and then splatted both parts of the pincer attack before they could get into position."

Tero turned to the side. There was one yellow haired Inkling, he displayed a level of skill far past what the other Inklings in the area had exhibited. Tero turned full body to this adversary, his stoic lips twisted slightly at the boy's obvious talent. There was something... familiar, about this one.

"You can't splat one boy?" Tako asked, standing not far from her brother and Arvis. The sight of this opponent prompted Tero to adjust his goggles, momentarily blinding himself to the real world to watch a video playback of certain events in Octo Valley. Meanwhile, Tako pointed her weapon at this curiously competent boy and fired at his blind spot.

The boy just evaded the attack without even needing to look. Tako's eyes widen in shock behind her goggles before she grit her teeth at her attack failing. The boy turned to face the leaders of the attack. Tero chuckled.

"Everything is identical. His pose, his reflexes, and his skills." Tero said, noticing that he, Tako, and Arvis now had the boy's attention. "He's not in the uniform we've come to recognize him in, but that is, beyond any reasonable doubt, Cuttlefish's greatest agent."

Tero raised an arm, pointing his wrist weapon in Agent 3's general direction. "I knew it was possible we would attack in an area he might be able to reach, but I still didn't think he would show up." He shook his head. "No mind. Before we retreat, let's have a second round with-"

Without warning, Agent 3's body suddenly morphed into a monstrous squid. Tero jolted and took a fearful step back at the sudden development. His enemy swam forward, splatting several Octarians who had the misfortune of being in his path.

"T-that's new." Tero whispered, still recovering from the shock. He carefully watched his enemy swimming around, creating a circle of his own ink around the three leaders of this attack.

"A challenge, is it?" Tako grinned as Agent 3's bizarre transformation ended and he returned to his normal humanoid form. He looked ready for a fight, even in clothes that looked far too casual to fight in. And his weapon, it was not the same gun he normally fought them with. Did it mean he was out of his element, or more in his element? The princess felt herself growing excited at the prospect either way. She tapped her brother's shoulder. "Follow me, brother. We're getting payback right now."

Tero shook his head. "I refuse." Tako snapped toward her brother's direction. "I will _not_ engage an opponent I don't have enough data on." He kept his goggles trained on Agent 3, both just to stay aware of his location, but also to let his goggles capture everything for future study. After seeing the rumored 'Kraken' ability the Inklings were said to possess, there was no telling what other surprises Agent 3 could have right now. A different weapon resulted in far too many unknown variables. After a moment, he glanced to the girl standing near him. "Arielle, I'm pulling back to a safer position. I want you to engage that boy."

The promising Octoling soldier gave an earnest salute to her prince's orders. As she rushed off, Tero glanced at his sister. After how the last encounter went, Tako wasn't stupid enough to engage Agent 3 without reliable backup. Begrudgingly, she Superjumped along with her brother to a vantage point to observe Agent 3 as the scapegoat soldier rushed to her assured doom.

* * *

"He's here!" Callie said in her Agent guise. Her eyes were looking at the scene unfolding before her. After being unchallenged for a short time, the Octarian force was falling apart at the hands of her friend. "Lum and his adorable little glasses."

Marie grinned. Already her worries were disappearing. Lum was making short work of his enemies as he always did. The Octarians would be defeated before their sudden attack got them any real results. Even the two that Marie would have been worried about, those Octoling royals, were clearly reluctant to fight Lum for whatever reason.

"I've got to help him." Came an anonymous, female voice. Marie turned as one female Inkling ran by at a dizzying speed.

"No, wait!" Callie called out. "He's taking care of this just fine, he's-" She trailed off as the girl turned into a squid and swam through the Ink Lum had left behind in the warzone. Concern for the girl materialized in Callie's gut, and then she realized. "That was Hum, wasn't it?"

Marie looked at Hum running off. Too soon after thinking everything would end happily, a new fear was woken in her gut. "I don't think Lum's going to get out of this one easily. We need to go there ourselves."

* * *

Lum had already splatted his share of Octarians today, but wasn't showing even a bead of fatigue. Across from him was just a single Octarian. One Octoling girl, a breed of Octarian that he had splatted scores of during his time fighting the enemy species. But after how his match with the Octarian royals went, he wasn't about to let himself get cocky.

Arielle took in a slow breath as she readied herself. She didn't want to be a failure in her first mission, and more importantly, she didn't want to fail before her sovereign. She took a moment to look over her shoulder at Tero and Tako before whipping her head back at her enemy.

Finally, after a drawn out moment, Lum made the first move. He dashed forward, firing a short ranged barrage from his Aerospray, but his enemy nimbly dodged. The girl responded with her own attack with her slightly longer ranged weapon.

Lum proceeded to throw a Splat Bomb. Arielle transformed into an octopus and swam to safety. Lum pressed on, inking his way to his adversary, only to have to retreat from the girl's attack. Rather then let the situation reverse, Lum swam around the girl and attempted to attack her from behind. Arielle adapted quickly, dodging Lum's attack and shooting a spread of ink that forced Lum to back away.

Without even needing a pause to think, Lum changed his strategy. He transformed into the monstrous Kraken again and swam toward his opponent with deadly speed. Arielle, looking just slightly panicked, fired at the colossal squid, slowing its movement down. Eventually, Lum accepted that this attack wasn't working either, and briefly retreated.

"...That's interesting." Tero said, watching the battle. He had noted that Arielle was a standout amongst the rookie Octolings, but he wasn't expecting a showing like this. The girl was actually matching Agent 3. Single-handedly, even. Something, he admitted to himself, he wouldn't be able to do. Nor something his sister, the princess, could do. Yet he also saw that Arielle wasn't going to be able to keep this up for much longer.

Both fighters were tiring, but Arielle, who had little experience with combat outside of training, was tiring much faster. Tero considered that negligible, for all that mattered to him was the opportunity for more analyzable data. With what he was gathering today, he could face Agent 3 as he was now with more confidence.

Just as the thought of abandoning Arielle and retreating back to Octo Valley with Tako and Arvis began to cross his mind, Agent 3 finally managed a firm hit on his opponent. Tero frowned, then wondered why this upset him. Perhaps, he thought, he just wanted to be able to expect more from this notable soldier.

With a splash of her opponent's yellow ink on her, Arielle was in a very dangerous position as Lum was approaching her. The boy breathed slightly, a little shocked that any one Octarian could singlehandedly push him that far. He pointed his weapon at his opponent, and-

"Lum!" He jolted at the sound of his name, he turned to see his sister run next to him. "Lum, what were you thinking?!" Hum immediately scolded, not even seeming to notice the Octarian so close to both of them. "You know the stakes are higher here then they are in Turf Wars. Now follow me, we have to get to-"

Arielle reacted swiftly in an attempt to turn the situation around, and thrust her weapon in this new girl's direction. Hum turned her head in the direction of the noise to see a gun pointed directly at her. Arielle fired.

Hum's eyes widened in horrified shock as she realized the position she had put herself into. The ink flew at her in what seemed to be slow motion. Next to her, Lum reacted without thinking, doing the one thing he could see that would keep his sister safe. He threw himself directly between Hum and the Octarian ink.

He stumbled back as the ink hit his torso firmly. He fell to one knee, still one hand on his Aerospray. Slowly he looked back at his enemy with a pained expression. He tried to stand up, but couldn't.

"L..." Hum began the first letter of her brother's name as her mind slowly comprehended what had happened. Then, once she began to think again, ran to Lum's side. "Oh no, what was _I_ thinking?" She realized, she had succeeded only in distracting Lum from the danger. And worse, that had resulted in him taking a blow meant for her. "Lum, I'm your older sibling. I'm the one who's supposed to protect you like that. I-" Trying to pick Lum up, she noticed the Octarian was approaching her.

Arielle pointed her weapon at her adversaries with a satisfied looking grin, only to suddenly get shoved aside by princess Tako.

"Stand down, scallop." Tako said coldly, picking up Arielle's weapon off the floor. "The right to splat Agent 3 is mine alone."

 _Agent 3?_ Hum's mind raced for an explanation for that strange title as she looked at her brother. This imposing Octoling walked forward, pointing her weapon at Lum and Hum.

"You have no idea how long I would have been willing to wait for this moment." Tako said with grim amusement. Hum's eyes darted around, looking for any possible way out of this situation. She wasn't strong enough to carry Lum, and she wouldn't be able to fight off these enemies. The only thing she could think to do was to put herself firmly between her brother and the danger. Tako smirked. "How sweet, you do have such overprotective ladies in your life, Agent 3. But she'll only be able to protect you for a few seconds."

Tako's finger began to pull the trigger, only for Lum to suddenly thrust his Aerospray out, he rested the end of the gun on Lum's shoulder to help stabilize his aim. The movement was so sudden that Tako paused in surprise.

"This is your second time of talking too much." Lum said. Without waiting for any kind of response, he fired. His ink went straight for Tako's face. She recoiled from the blow of the ink, stumbling backwards and tumbling onto her back.

Lum began to stand back up, then fell back to his knees. Hum immediately tried to tend to him, but a hand firmly grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see another, male Octoling holding onto her. Without warning, a sudden shock went through her body. She melted into her squid form and fell unconscious. The Octoling now held her limp form by one tentacle.

"So, Agent 3." Tero said, holding Hum in his hand. "I assume this girl is someone important in your life?" He looked at the boy. In this situation he could have dealt with Agent 3 once and for all very easily. And yet... he glanced at his sister still prone on the ground, and smirked once.

"I am interested in seeing this." Tero said, a note of amusement in his voice. "How you will respond, and how my sister will respond."

Arvis cautiously approached the prince, keeping an eye on the Inkling boy. "P-prince, what now?"

"Now? Now we return." He gave a glance at Arvis so the strategist knew that the order was genuine. "Arielle, collect my sister. We're returning to base." He turned away, then looked over his shoulder, gesturing with the hand that was holding Hum. "I'll be holding on to this girl, Agent 3. Until we meet again. But please be punctual, I may lose my patience and take out my frustrations on this girl if you take too long. What a shame it would be if you can't sniff out our mother base in time."

He turned away, Arielle appeared by his side, holding the limp princess. Tero began to walk away. Behind him, Lum was trying to slowly stand up. With a few deep breathes, he finally managed to get onto shaky legs, still coated with no small amount of Octarian ink. He looked ready to leap to his sister's aid immediately, but a pair of arms stopped him.

Lum looked to see what had just grabbed him. Marie was holding him securely, and clearly had no intention of letting him go. She looked at her friend and shook her head. "They're too prepared right now, Lum. You can't fight the prince and that girl in your state." Despite the words, Lum began trying to fight his way out of Marie's grip, but in his current state Marie was able to, with some difficulty, keep him from getting away.

Callie tapped Lum's shoulder to draw his attention. She left her hand on his shoulder in a gesture intended to soothe. "We know what you're feeling. They may have Gramps just like they have your sister."

He remembered Cuttlefish. That's right, he thought of him right before he leapt down to face these intruders in Inkopolis. Which meant that the Octarians likely had two hostages right now. Assuming that they hadn't just splatted the captain when they broke into Inkopolis. The outrage burned brighter in him at the thought of how much the Octarians could be taking from him right now.

"We'll have our chance to save them." Marie assured, placing a hand on one of Lum's cheeks. Lum, mercifully, was starting to stop fighting her grip. "We just need to be ready, Lum. After this close call, you can't just charge at them right now."

Lum sat back as Marie let go of him, raising one hand to his forehead and breathed in, then out. No calmness was coming to him, he had been effectively defeated by the Octarians for the first time today, and worse, they took one of the most precious people in his life with them.

With thoughts of his sister's safety on his mind, he slowly stood up. His hands clenched, then unclenched.

 _No matter what._ He thought to himself. _I'll make sure this won't end the way the Octarians want it to._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	16. Counterattack

**With the Switch game confirmed to be Splatoon 2, it gives me interesting thoughts regarding my fic. I've been trying to write it as if it was a story that could easily fit within the canon, so I'll just have to see what new story elements are added in this sequel.**

 **I'd be highly amused if they went with the 'children of Octavio' concept I'm doing with the leaders of the Octarians, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

From her sleep, Hum slowly began to stir. First a small groan as her mind began to slowly wake up, then she shifted her position uncomfortably. She raised a hand to her temple as she began to turn over, then found that what she was laying on was not the soft covers of her bed, but something cold and hard.

Almost immediately, the last memory in her head, of her brother hurt by the Octarians, rushed to the forefront of her mind. Her eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up. She rushed to her feet, but the sudden movement threw her off and she stumbled a step back, backing into a cold metal wall behind her with a loud bumping sound.

"I see you're awake now." A voice spoke, Hum turned to its direction, straining to get a clear picture from her tired eyes, at which point she realized she was no longer wearing her glasses, what was past her was a hazy blur. Not far from her was a strange figure, the same... she had only seen him for a small moment, but it was that Octarian that had grabbed her before something rendered her unconscious. "Did you sleep well? We aren't used to having Inklings guests."

The words were calm, but with that little tick of conceit that irritated Hum. Boldly, she began to storm over to him, only to smack face first into a glass wall.

"You're in a cell, in case that wasn't obvious." The Octoling said, slightly amused by what he just saw. "Completely sealed, with no crack or crevice that you can try to force yourself through as a squid."

Hum rubbed at her face, slightly bruised, then glared at her captor. "Who are you?"

He titled his head and grinned slightly. "Ah, yes. I am Prince Tero, the prince of the Octarian race." As he spoke, he made a dramatic flourish with his right arm. "I am one of the two current leaders of the species at odds with yours. Myself and my sister."

In response, a woman walked beside Tero. She carried herself in a more brutish manner then the male did. She looked extremely irritated, then turned to her brother. "We have your hostage to lure Agent 3 to us, brother. He's already taken the bait, so let's splat her now."

Agent 3. Hum remembered the Octarians had used that strange term to refer to her little brother. She had no idea why they called him that, but what she did perfectly understand was that she was being used to bait Lum into danger.

Tero chuckled slightly. "Such impatience, Tako. We would be wise to have an insurance piece to keep him at bay, in the event that-"

"Leave him alone!" Hum shouted through the glass, drawing the attention of the two siblings. She took a deep breath, knowing exactly what her next words would be. "Do anything you want to me, but leave my brother alone."

"Brother?" Tako asked, tilting her head slightly. There was a small moment of quiet silence between everyone, then suddenly Tako released a high pitched laugh. Tero leaned slightly away, looking slightly annoyed with his sister. Eventually, the laughter abated. Tako smiled grimly. "This is Agent 3's very own sister. You're right, brother, it would be a waste to splat her now." She turned to walk away, then looked over her shoulder back at Hum. "Put her on display outside the fortress. Once Agent 3 approaches, splat her. Let's see how that sight affects him."

She gave Hum a smug look before leaving the room, Tero shook his head before turning back to Hum. "Don't worry. I have no love for your kind, but I'm not the splat-happy psychopath that my sister is." Hum just glared at her captor, Tero chuckled. "Though I imagine you won't be a fan of what I myself intend to do with you. Should the situation turn against me, I can use you as a decoy. After watching himself shield you in Inkopolis, I imagine that your brother would prioritize your safety over hunting me down."

"Why do you want my brother?" Hum asked. "What did he ever do to you?"

Tero stroked his chin for a moment. "Oh, if you only knew." He looked strangely amused at the question. He looked ready to begin an explanation, but then changed the subject with a question of his own. "Your brother is precious to you? You don't hold any disdain for him at all?"

Hum blinked at the odd question. "He... gets on my nerves from time to time, but I love my brother."

Tero wrinkled his nose. "I cannot fathom the idea of two siblings loving each other." His thoughts turned elsewhere. "I have nothing good to say about my sister. I disliked father, but Tako nauseates me at the best of times, my feelings for her at the worst of times is best left unsaid."

A moment of silence fell. Hum found the hostile sibling relationship, even an Octarian one, disquieting. She could never imagine anything driving such a wedge between Lum and her. Hum might not have been able to continue on if she didn't have her family. For a moment, Hum felt a hint of pity for these two Octarian siblings.

The door to the room opened and another Octarian came in, this one frantic. Hum immediately recognized her as the Octoling Lum had been fighting. The very same one who had injured Hum's brother, and she instinctively grit her teeth.

"My prince." Arielle began, then gasped from being out of breath. Leaning forward with her hands on her knees. After catching her breath, she gave her report. "Agent 3 just entered Octo Valley."

Tero made another glance at Hum, getting some petty amusement from her suddenly worried expression. "Good. I made sure there were enough crumbs for him to follow. But he'll learn that we're a completely different game then Octavio was." He thought for a moment. "Arielle, find someone to stand guard here, after that, come to me." He began to leave the room. "Whatever Tako, Arvis, and Keu come up with, it won't be good enough to defeat that boy, and Tako is assured to overrule my suggestions. We will work independently of the rest of the Octarian army."

"I..." Arielle began, looking a little shocked. "You want my singular help with your plan?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Tero answered with a slightly more hushed tone than usual. Arielle tilted her head in confusion, then Tero turned full body to her with a deepening frown on his face.

"I-I'll find a guard, then I'll lend you all of my support, my prince."

* * *

In Cuttlefish's camp, the Octarians now had the run of the place. Common Octotroopers were tearing up Cuttlefish's maps, while others were trying to smash his equipment. Some were nibbling on his food, and still others were wearing some of Cuttlefish's spare caps and parading around mockingly. Everywhere one looked, it was an endless display of contempt and disrespect, with no end in sight.

Then suddenly, there was a splash on a nearby grate. The Octarians all stopped and turned in unison, one Inkling had landed, in a familiar black and yellow uniform. The Inkling had come with a face that the Octarians had come to fear.

"Agent 3!" One of them shouted, and then was almost immediately splatted. The Octarians realized that their fun was over, and hurriedly attempted some sort of defense. Their attempts barely had a chance to begin, Lum splatted his foes with an exceptional quickness, almost as if he had become more skilled since the last time he had come to the valley.

He splatted one Octarian after another, piercing deep into the Octarian's shoddy flank. As he moved away from the grate, his fellow agents appeared behind him on the grate. He turned and nodded at the two girls to begin searching the camp.

"Tell us where the captain and my sister are." Lum shouted. "If you don't know, then leave now."

Callie and Marie began turning the camp upside down, looking for any sign of their grandfather. Periodically they turned to look at how Lum was doing in his fight. Callie allowed herself a small smirk at how badly Lum was decimating the enemy before turning back to their own task. Eventually, they found what the Octarians had done with their gramps.

Cuttlefish was uninjured, but had been trapped in the snow globe they had put Octavio into. He was floating inside, as if he was some animal to watch for light amusement. Immediately the two cousins rushed to the base of the snow globe to try and open it. Working with the machine briefly, the sound of its beeps accompanied by the sound of Octarians being splatted behind them, they eventually opened the globe.

"Bucko!" Cuttlefish addressed Lum while standing on shaky legs as he came out of his prison. Callie handed him his cane to lean on. He looked at his agents and gave a proud nod. "I see you came together to resist the Octarians."

"They appeared in Inkopolis." Marie said. "And when they left, they took someone with them. Did you see anything, gramps?"

He tugged at his cuttles in thought. "I saw one of them holding a squid in his hand, before telling these Octarians to stay at the camp to be 'crumbs'." Marie's eyes widened at the words. Lum turned to the Octarians still at the camp and gave a fierce glare. The Octarians hesitated from the angered expression made by their greatest enemy and back away. Then, all at once, they turned and fled.

"This is our chance, bucko." Cuttlefish said. "The Octo-jerks path of retreat will lead us straight to wherever their base is. Who they squidnapped is sure to be there as well."

Lum nodded then turned toward the enemy, but Marie grabbed his shoulder. "Lum, wait." Her voice betrayed a very, very deep worry for his sake. "If those Octarians were 'crumbs', then their baiting you to their base."

"I know this is a trap." He said quickly. "But if I don't go, my sister will be-"

Marie leaned forward with a slightly irritated look on her face. For a moment, the only thing on Lum's mind, was the fact that Hum always got extremely angry when any other girl got in his face like that. After a moment, seeing she had his attention, Marie backed up. "I know. You need to go, but you also need to have a plan. Those two royals, and that one girl who managed to fight you evenly in Inkopolis. They'll all be there, and they'll be expecting you."

After a moment, Lum nodded. "I know. I need a calm head will get Hum out safely."

"Um, hey." Callie interrupted, pointing to the Octarians putting distance between themselves and the Inklings. "Come up with that plan on the way there, or we'll lose them."

Lum turned to the distance, then Superjumped after the fleeing Octarians. Callie watched him as he went further and further away. Lum was moving amazingly fast, to the point that he seemed impatient. She understood why he would be, but he wouldn't be able to rescue anyone if he tried to rush it. She tapped a finger to her chin in thought.

"Those two Octarian siblings are more skilled then their father." Marie appeared to be thinking out loud rather than conversing to anyone in particular. "Lum couldn't land the final blow on Octavio before we interfered with him. If Lum tries to take on those two siblings without any kind of backup, he might..." She trailed off, not wanting to think about where she was going with that.

"But they don't have a machine powered by the Great Zapfish." Callie said, trying to reassure her cousin, but her voice didn't sound very confident. The two exchanged a look, and held a deeply serious, wordless conversation between them.

* * *

Hum was sitting in her cell, rocking slightly back and forth, feeling completely helpless. She couldn't see any way to get out of the cell, and her being her was drawing Lum to danger. She sighed, trying to fight the temptation to give up. Something in her psyche told her that how this ordeal would end would hinge heavily on what she did. Yet she couldn't do anything.

She thought about Lum, a skilled turf war player, but also kind of sensitive. The two siblings were normally inseparable, the occasional minor squabble aside. The two couldn't stay mad at each other, and were always loyal to each other. Lum would probably be a very different person right now if he hadn't had Hum in his life, and Hum could have seen herself being a much less savory individual without the pressure of setting an example for Lum.

And now all this happens. Hum silently wished that she had tried to play in Turf Wars, she wouldn't be so helpless right here if she knew how to use one of the almost endless available weapons. If only she had paid more attention to them instead of just paying attention only when Lum was participating.

"Gosh, Agent 3's very own sister." A voice spoke, Hum's thoughts jolted back to reality. There were two Octarians on the other side of the glass wall keeping her in confinement. The smaller, shorter Octarians, not like the Octolings that had been in the room earlier. The guards who were to watch her, she assumed.

The two Octarians both tilted their heads in the same direction in perfect unison. In any other occasion Hum would have thought it looked rather cute, instead she just wrinkled her nose at them.

"I think she's upset." One of them said. "What do you think, Tus? Is she angry about something?"

Tus thought for a moment. "I dunno. Try banging on the glass, Amph." They both rapped on the glass. "Hey, Agent 3's sister, are you upset?"

Hum felt her forehead strain at the banging noise.

 _I could take those two, Tako and Tero, seriously. But these two are setting the bar for villainy pretty low._

Amph and Tus both titled their heads back and forth as they thought.

 _I'm going to wake up tomorrow with their faces pressed up against the glass, aren't I?_

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed.**


	17. Proud Octarian Princess

**...I'm not sure how long this chapter sat completed on my computer but un-uploaded. Sorry about that. To those who like this story, I give the promise that the next chapter will be uploaded on a more reasonable time schedule.**

 **Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else is credit to Nintendo and/or their respective owners.**

* * *

Tako rubbed two fingers together as she tapped her foot impatiently, slouching on her throne. All around her, her subjects focused their attention to a complex series of monitors around them, scanning for any trace of Agent 3's approach. She closed her eyes at the irritatingly consistent beeping and clicking noises as her soldiers did their work.

Fidgeting it annoyance, she felt that what she planned to be the final showdown was taking too long to arrive. Seconds turned into minutes as her impatience grew, as every small gesture she made a portion of her subjects tremble before they returned to their work. Tako was bordering on demanding that Tero's 'crumbs' be brought before her to be punished for being ineffective lures, when one monitor flashed with a yellow-clad figure.

"P-princess, he's coming!" One random scout reported. Tako grinned at the boy's approach, slowly rising from her throne. She felt her muscles, stiff from the constant sitting, begin to loosen from the motion. It was rare for her to anticipate a challenge like this, but the boy had proven to be a bit special.

True, Agent 3 had bested her once now, or twice, but she was determined to crush him on this day. It would be a grim message that the Octarians were about to become the dominant race of the two. Furthermore, she had to illustrate, beyond any doubt, that she was far superior to her father. She would not accept a third defeat from that boy.

"Keu."

"Yes, my princess." The elderly Octarian appeared by his lady's side. Tako turned and nodded at him to confirm his presence.

"Arvis."

"P-present, princess." The jester tactician ran up to his ruler.

Tako walked past the both of them, then turned to face them. "I envision the three of us facing Agent 3 after we've succeeded in cornering him, and have his sister splatted before him." She turned to her smaller ally. "Arvis, see to it that girl is ready to be splatted at a moment's notice. I want to see that look on the boy's face."

Arvis nodded. "I'll personally see to it that the girl is brought to us ready for use." He bowed his head. "Excuse me, for I must depart to do just that."

* * *

"What?!" Arvis screamed at the two Octotroopers. "What do you mean she escaped?"

Tus did the closest he could do to a shrug. "I mean she skedaddled, beat feet, got away, flew the coop, took flight and-"

"I know what it means!" Arvis roared, veins visible in his eyes. "How, just _how_ did she escape?! She was in a cell that the prince himself designed! It was escape-proof!"

"Well..." Amph glanced to the open cell beside them. "It went kind of like this."

* * *

 _Hum couldn't stand the idea of just staying in her cell. Yet there was no way to escape. That prince was right in that there weren't any alcoves she could force herself through as a squid. Which meant that if she was to escape, it would have to be by finding some way to make the cell open. She took in a calming breath as she walked forward, hoping that the two Octarians guarding her weren't the sharpest around._

 _"Hey, can you two let me out?" Hum asked from her side of the glass, moving one finger across the glass' surface. The two guards turned to her. "I, uh... need some fresh air."_

 _Amph and Tus exchanged a look before turning to face Hum. "I'm afraid we're supposed to be guarding you. You can't let you out right now."_

 _Hum scratched at her chin for a moment in thought, thinking of the reason why the two Octotroopers were interested in her earlier. For whatever reason, these two were big fans of her brother. If she could run with that idea... "If you let me out for a minute, I can talk my brother into signing your foreheads for you."_

 _A small silence fell, and then the two Octotroopers zoomed to the control panel on the side of the glass door so fast Hum only saw a blur. The glass that barred her from leaving slid into the wall, allowing her to easily walk out of her confinement. Hum lightly smacked her forehead in amazement that that idea actually worked._

 _"O-okay, a nice bit of fresh air, girl. Then you go back in your cell, and later on you'll talk to your brother about sig-"_

 _That's as far as Amph managed to get, Hum immediately raced past the two guards, bowling over Amph and knocking Tus a step back._

 _"Hey, Agent 3's sister, stop!" Tus yelled, Hum continued running without looking back, eventually shifting to her squid form and slipping into a hole in the wall. "Um, I didn't say 'keep running', I said 'stop'!"_

 _"Maybe she didn't hear you. Try yelling again."_

* * *

Arvis quivered in rage. "Then... why didn't you chase after her? Or try to raise an alert?"

Amph and Tus exchanged another glance. "Weren't we only ordered to guard the cell? We couldn't leave our post to chase after her."

"You just guarded an empty cell?"

They nodded.

Arvis' tentacles drooped over his eyes as he turned away. "Oh, I have some _horrible_ educated guesses as to how the princess is going to respond to this story."

* * *

Octolings patrolled dutifully outside their mother base, with Octostrikers watching events from a bird's eye view. With patrol routes dictated by Prince Tero himself, it allowed for few openings and blind spots during patrols, allowing for excellent, efficient guarding of their base. And patrols were important today, it had been communicated to everyone that they were luring none other than Agent 3 himself here. Every solder had been instructed to be twice more cautious and three times more battle ready than normal.

In one area, two Octolings proudly continued the task they were given, giving each other complimentary nods when they passed each other, until one of them heard a strange noise. She whipped around, her Octoshot pointing at the distance, only for her eyes to notice a strange contraption moving on the floor.

"Seek-" That was all she could say before the Inkling weapon exploded on her foot, Lum's yellow ink splatting the soldier. The second Octoling dashed to the sight of the explosion, taking a second to process what had happened, then frantically pointing her weapon uncertainly at the environment around her.

The clicking sound of footsteps sounded to her left, she whipped to the side but found nothing. The Octoling retained the tension in her shoulders as she carefully scanned the area around her, before hearing the sound of an Inkling shifting form. She turned her head up to the direction the noise came from to see Agent 3 leaping in the air, his gun pointed at his enemy. Without hesitation, Lum fired. With both guards gone, Lum's eyes darted around, looking for where he should go next, but any hope of a relatively stealthy approach was ended at the whistling sound of an Octostriker's Inkstrike coming down.

Lum shifted to his squid form and dodged the attack, but now a full battalion of Octarians were charging at him. Lum grit his teeth and readied for battle.

Deep inside the base, Tero watched the battle on the base's exterior unfolding via several security monitors. Though what he saw was the same as it always was, Agent 3 utterly destroying everything that tried to challenge him. The specifics were different, but the same basic scenario played out over and over again every time this boy met with the Octarians.

"H-he's completely dismantling us." Arielle said, standing beside Tero, cautiously eying what she was seeing as she tapped two fingers to her lower lip. "That girl we took ended up being his sister, so..." She turned. "My prince, I-I think we may have picked the wrong way to antagonize him."

Tero turned to the soldier. "You haven't seen much of this boy in action, clearly. The rank and file are no match for him, they never have been." Tero's eyes returned to the monitors, even the greatest of their soldiers were mere fodder for Agent 3, it took a truly exceptional Octarian to stand up to the boy. Something that Tero believed he was, thanks to his skill in planning. "Although, I intend to ensure that this is the final time he will fight us. We have his precious sister as our contingency hostage if things go awry, after all."

Pressing a button on the console before him, one single monitor stopped displaying the battle outside and shifted to an image of the prison area. Tero's look of satisfaction vanished as he saw Tako angrily berating Arvis for something. As Arvis looked like he was braced for the possibility of being sentenced to public splatting, Tero noticed that the cell that the girl had been kept in was empty, and sighed.

"Even the best laid of plans quickly fall apart when faced with an ally's stupidity." Tero mused, turning to Arielle. "But this shouldn't be overly meaningful. Let whatever poorly thought out plan Tako came up with buy us the time to find our little escape artist and prepare for Agent 3. We must have as many advantages as we can have before we engage him."

An Octostriker's eyes widened at he was marked by Lum's yellow ink, as the large Octarian flapped its tentacle-wings in surprise Lum turned and shot down a trio of Octolings that were trying to approach his blind spot. With that done, he returned his attention to the Octostriker, shooting down the bizarre flying Octarian.

"How can anyone be this skilled?" One Octoling asked aloud before being summarily splatted herself. Eventually, Lum came to the entrance of the Octarian base. The enemies outside had been thinned considerably, and now came the task of clearing out the interior, and more importantly, finding Hum somewhere inside.

Almost immediately Lum entered an almost pitch-black room. His first thought was to find some manner of light to help guide him, or perhaps to turn around and choose another route, and then a large spotlight shone on him.

Squinting his eyes from the bright light, Lum could barely make out anything in the room despite there now being a source of light. He covered his eyes with one hand as the glare became too strong to deal with, then his ears picked up the metallic sound of a weapon. Turning to the sound, Lum leapt to the side while firing off his own ink. He heard the sound of a female cry as the Octarian attack was hurriedly called off.

"You swore to me that this sneak attack would work, jester." Tako said in a threateningly low voice.

"Um, w-well, my princess, it's a matter of probabilities, and-" Arvis' voice came from the direction of the spotlight, his seemed trembling for a moment, but then it suddenly became more confident. "And the attack isn't over yet."

As if the words were a cue, a small mechanical whirring began to fill the air, Lum turned to see a Seeker coming at him. Quickly recovering from his surprise, he shifted to his squid form to make his getaway.

"Attack now, my princess!" Arvis said, Tako took a second to glare at Arvis for giving her instructions, then pointed her weapon at where Lum was under the ink. Her attack missed, but it drove Lum to the side, out of the boundaries of his own ink, reducing him to merely wiggling across the metal floor as a squid.

With its target out of the ink again, the Seeker re-locked onto its Inking prey, Lum reassumed his humanoid form before activating his Bubbler.

Arvis frowned as his ambush tripped at the finish line thanks to the boy's shield. "That convenient panic button of the boy's. I must petition the prince to make a weapon that can punch straight through it."

Tako leapt back as Lum pointed his weapon in her direction, then he turned toward where the Seeker had come from. There was a third enemy in the room. Tako's brother, or...?

Upon getting a better view, Lum could see that it was an aged figure, much like Cuttlefish, but this elder's posture was very different. He stood in a dignified polite manner.

"Keu, I conclude that the failure was your fault for making too much noise." Arvis chastised this elderly Octoling. In response, Keu turned to look at Arvis out of the corner of his eyes.

"...And who was it who announced that there was a second part to the ambush, jester?" The elder lightly scolded before returning his full attention to the boy. "Ah, Agent 3. For all the stories I have heard of you, we have yet to meet. I am Keu, the princess Tako's butler, bodyguard, and devoted servant." He made a polite bow, his movement didn't seem to suggest that age had resulted in pains and aches to his body. "I am half-inclined to admire the combat prowess you have achieved at such an early age, but every enemy to my princess must be splatted."

Lum took an extended look at Keu, how many high ranking Octarians were unknown to him, then turned back to Tako. "Where is Hum?"

Arvis almost immediately concocted a plot at those words. "Oh, your sister, Agent 3?" He spoke smoothly and with confidence, that girl may have managed to escape due to the baffling stupidity of the guards, but if Agent 3 wasn't aware of this, he could spin it to his advantage. "You see, boy, we've taken the liberty of-"

"Once you're a stain, we'll work on finding that little escape artist." Tako bluntly said, provoking a long exaggerated sigh from Arvis. "I had actually planned on splatting her right in front of you, but plans change."

Despite the threat that had been made, Lum grinned with some relief. Hum wasn't in a cell, but his warrior expression returned as he remembered that she was in danger so long as she was somewhere in this base. But where was she, he wondered.

* * *

Hum quietly lay submerged in a trail of yellow ink that had curiously appeared in a corridor she had already passed through. The existence of Inkling ink where there had been known previously told her that another Inkling was around, and judging by the splatters of Octarian ink elsewhere, that Inkling had likely been battling his or her way through the fortress. And, a further conclusion that could be drawn from the amount of Inkling ink and just how little Octarian ink there was, was that this second Inkling in the base was winning his or her fight.

While she didn't know the gender of the other Inkling, Hum's heart immediately told her that it had to be her little brother. Swimming slowly to not cause ripples in the ink, she saw various Octarians patrolling around on high alert. As she saw their skittish, frightened movements, the puzzle of where her brother occasionally disappeared to was suddenly answered. Lum was entertaining a secret life down here where the Octarians lived.

But what was his reason for doing so, Hum thought to herself. Blowing off steam? Belief that the Octarians were up to something? Some drive to see Octarians stemming from his love of history? At the very least, Hum had enough faith in her brother's character to believe that it wasn't some petty need to bully weaker people around. He wasn't like Pyrot or Cranch.

Eventually, the trail of yellow ink ended, after seeing that no Octarians were around Hum cautiously emerged from the ink and entered a nearby door. On the other side was a catwalk that had no sign of battle anywhere on it. Always aware of the possibility that some Octarians could be nearby, Hum took careful steps upon the narrow extension, then sounds coming from below her caught her ear. Taking the risk, she took a deep breath and looked over the edge of the rail.

A large machine was beneath her, Hum had to rub at her eyes a bit, being robbed of her glasses made it difficult to see right now. Yet based on the sparks she was seeing, she could deduce that something was under construction. But what? Squint though she might, it just looked like a single tentacle to her. Connected... to something, something like a-

"You peeked." A voice said, making Hum leap in fear. She turned to see Tero standing across from her on the catwalk. "I dislike people gawking at my inventions before they're completed. Especially when it's something that I consider to be a masterpiece."

As Hum carefully held her ground, her clever mind looking for some solution, she heard a clicking sound. Turning around, that girl who seemed fond of the Octarian prince was behind her. Tero chuckled as Hum turned back to him. "I imagine you want to know what that machine below us will eventually be." He swept a hand over his forehead as he grinned. "The answer to that will never be learnt by you, but I will give you a hint. Once we are in a good enough position regarding electrical power, there's _something_ we'll be using to destroy Inkopolis."

Hum looked over the catwalk again, gulping a little, and then Tero's voice turned deathly serious. "My invention aside, your little escape attempt is ending here." He advanced a step, Hum looked behind her then back at Tero, she was pinned between two enemies. As her mind raced, Arielle shot her lightly from behind, making Hum collapse to her knees.

Tero came up to her. "I'm not completely without goodwill." He grabbed Hum by her shoulder and drug her back to her feet. "I'll take you to meet your brother one final time."

* * *

Lum dodged Tako's next blast of ink before hopping around some Splat Bombs that Keu threw. The elderly Octarian didn't seem much for fighting with a normal weapon, but it would seem he was skilled with some Octarian equivalent to the sub-weapons Lum was familiar with.

Arvis was shouting battle instructions. And though his instructions were being followed, they weren't making any progress in defeating Agent 3. Tako felt the impatience begin to build in her psyche.

"You're strategies aren't helping us break him, jester." Tako suddenly yelled, Arvis took a fearful step back from the angered tone. "I'll do this my way from now on." She turned to her servant. "Keu, support me."

Ignoring the protests from Arvis, Tako charged forward, a Seeker from Keu trailing beside her. Lum turned to the sudden brazen assault and made a small retreat at the intensity of the attack. For several minutes, Tako and Keu's joint attack was working better then the coordinated assault Arvis had been commanding up until then.

Then, Tako got nearly within arm's reach with Lum under Arvis' spotlight. She thrust her Octoshot out and attempted to end the battle. Lum narrowly dodged and leapt above her. Tako's eyes followed her opponent, but were then immediately blinded by the bright light of the spotlight. Turning her head as her eyes pained her, her only thought was soothing her strained eyes, and then a burst of ink hit her.

Reeling several steps back, Tako threw her weapon down as one hand clutched at the goggles over her eyes, and the other was trying to brush off the ink that had struck her chest region. Growling through clenched teeth, she swore to make Tero add an automatic brightness filter to her goggles. Eventually opening her eyes, Agent 3 had vanished. Her eyes weren't seeing anything, but a mechanical noise was sounding. Dismissing it as Keu continuing the attack on the boy, she looked to her servant to follow his eyes as to where Agent 3 had gone. Instead, Keu was looking straight at her with frightened eyes.

"My princess!"

Tako immediately turned her head back in the direction the mechanical noise was coming from. A single Seeker, leaving a trail of yellow ink behind, was coming toward her, and she had not even a fraction of a second to process that fact.

The Inkling weapon exploded on her leg, sending her flying back, slamming into the metal wall. She began to pick herself up, disoriented from the shock and shaking her head.

 _When did that boy have time to fire off a Seeker?_ She snarled as she got up to her feet, but found that her legs were shakier then she expected.

"My princess Tako." Keu said as he came next to her. "We are in no position to continue, we must retreat."

"Retreat?!" Tako screeched, Keu leaned away. "Retreat on our home turf? This is our base, and we lured him here because there was no way we can lose here. He's just some filthy commoner, I am a _royal_ , I won't accept anything short of-"

A Splat Bomb released by Lum struck Tako on the side of the head and then detonated. With the ink coating her, Tako's body finally ruptured with ink.

"Princess!" Keu yelled as his mistress disappeared in an explosion of ink.

Arvis had to blink several times to process what he had just seen. "N-nobody has... _ever_... managed to splat the princess before."

Keu took in a calming breath. "Princess Tako will respawn in the throne room." He looked up at the ledge where the jester tactician was stationed. "Retreat, jester. We must be ready to receive her. Doubtless she will be beside herself in anger when next we meet."

Arvis audibly gulped, then nodded, not looking forward to Tako's wrath but following the order nonetheless.

Keu looked back at Lum. "I trust we'll meet again, boy. I cannot easily forgive even the slightest bruise on my princess."

As the two left, Lum breathed heavily for a moment. Overcoming that three on one had taken more out of him then he thought it would. He looked at the door Keu fled with. He dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, finding Hum was millions of times more important than tracking down Tako for a final showdown. He learned that his sister had escaped, she probably wouldn't be in that throne room that Keu had mentioned.

He tried to take a step forward, and then a blast of ink struck the ground in front of him. He turned to the source and...

It was that same girl. The one who he only slightly got a victory over back in Inkopolis. That Octoling had appeared for another fight. And then, her head tilted up as a large shadow appeared over the room. Lum looked up to see a large machine descending.

"My congratulations on defeating my incompetent sister." Tero began, sitting in the cockpit of his handiwork. There was something oddly familiar about it, Lum tilted his head in curiosity.

"Isn't that Octavio's-"

"I reworked it into something a bit less ridiculous." Tero cut Lum off. "This machine's weaponry now isn't something that would make the adversary more inclined to laugh then cower." He looked away from a moment. "So much stronger then it was on that day thanks to my genius. And I added one delightful feature, the ability to hold a hostage on display."

A tube emerged from the top of the machine, in it was a lone figure. Lum blinked and then squinted his eyes, then widened them in realization.

" _Hum!_ " He yelled as he recognized his sister trapped in the glass tube. Hum looked down at him, looking panicked at what she was seeing, her mind only barely registering that Lum was wearing that curious outfit from his closet. The forefront of her mind was only thinking about the danger her brother was in right now.

Tero chuckled. "Ah, Agent 3. To think that this is the day our encounters end." He leaned back in his chair. "I have an upgrade of the machine that drove you to such lengths when you fought father. I have the aid of an Octoling very nearly your equal. And above all, I have someone precious to you as a hostage. Therefore..."

The machine powered with a blue light. "You... lose."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more.**


	18. Cunning Octarian Prince

**Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else belongs to Nintendo and/or respective owners.**

* * *

"That's the Octo-jerks base." Cuttlefish mused, looking through his telescope. Across from them stood an intimidating building, whose architecture seemed rather different then what he was used to seeing from the Octarians. Perhaps it was a mark of sorts that represented the new leaders of the Octarians.

Cuttlefish and the first two agents had followed the path Lum led, taking them startlingly deep into Octarian territory. Under normal circumstances it would be extremely dangerous, they'd have to be constantly on the lookout for Octarian ambushes this far into their lands, yet no attack was made on them. Every Octarian was instead likely primed to receive Agent 3, and every available Octarian was likely at the base across from them.

The base wasn't exactly hidden, but it was deeper into the Octarian territory then they had ever ventured or scouted. Built over the water, the place was gargantuan. It went several stories up, and looked as though it could also go several stories down below the water's surface. There was no doubt that this was the base where all the recent Octarian attacks had been launched from. Inside of it was the heads of the Octarian army, those two royals.

One could see a mess of Octarian ink and Lum's yellow ink strewn about one of the various entrances. He had clearly already stormed the building, and had to have been somewhere inside already. The select few Octarians they could see in the remnants of the battlefield looked dazed and fearful.

Only static emerged from the monitor Callie was carrying, doubtlessly some Octarian machine was interfering with their tools to keep in touch with the primary field agent. Any confidence one could have taken from the devastated Octarians at the entrance was marred by the fact that they couldn't keep track of how Lum was doing inside. Callie felt herself grow nervous for the safety of those two siblings.

Marie tapped a finger to her lip in thought. Not being able to see what Lum was doing in the base, not being able to offer him any advice, or even just shout encouragement, got to her more then she thought it would. She turned to Callie, reading the same emotions from her that she herself was feeling. Lum and Hum, despite the fact that they had only met Hum once, the two were starting to become irreplaceable to them.

Somewhere inside that base, Lum was giving it all for his sister. Yet here outside, it was all the rest of the team could do to try and get a little closer to the Octarian base, and hope it put them in a good position to render some form of aid.

* * *

The corner of Tero's lip curled into a grin as he pressed the first button. The hatches that formally stocked missiles opened, but this time simple Octarian ink gushed forward, hoping to splat Agent 3 in a horizontal geyser.

The liquid splattered around the room, but Lum agilely dodged. As he evaded the deadly streams, he kept his eyes on the tube his sister was stuck in. Tero half-way marveled the boy's ability to make such good judgments and also divide his attention while under pressure, but would he be able to keep it up if the pressure was increased?

Arielle's goggles beeped with instructions from Tero. She immediately moved in response to the orders. Her Octoshot let out an attack in conjunction with Tero's. A dual attack on the boy that could have easily ended the fight before it really began. Lum's back took a solid hit from Arielle's attack, instinctively he shifted to his squid form and tried to make a momentary retreat in his own ink... only to find there was precious little of his own ink to work with.

"Alack and alas, Agent 3." Tero began as Lum returned to humanoid form. "The geysers of Octarian ink have coated nearly the whole room. You have no where left to run." Above him, Hum was banging her hands against the sides of the tube she was stuck in. She could see every bit of the trouble her brother was in right now, this attack was almost too coordinated.

Lum's mind raced. He wasn't sure if he had ever been in a situation this disadvantageous before. If Tero and Arielle continued to be able to cooperate like this, his chances for victory would be slim. And that's when an idea popped into his head.

Tero, sitting comfortably in his cockpit, would be nearly impossible to attack in the current situation. So, as much as he wanted Hum rescued as fast as possible, he should deal with the threats one at a time. Without even turning, he made a wide motion with his preferred arm and pointed his Hero Shot straight at Arielle. It was so sudden the girl didn't expect it at all, and only narrowly dodged the blast of yellow ink, but still some of Lum's ink sprinkled on her cheek.

"Divide and conquer, Agent 3?" Tero mused. "An admittedly excellent response to this situation, but you shouldn't turn away from the greater of two threats for long." Seeing potential victory, he pressed a specific sequence of buttons before pulling one small lever. At once the mech's hands lunged forward toward Lum's position. He recognized the threat and deftly evaded.

The hands, with their palms open, slammed into the ground. Then the metallic wrists began to spin rapidly, and suddenly began spewing ink out from hatches alongside them.

"Do you like it? I was inspired by the 'Sprinker' I've seen some of your kind use." His invention began coating the room in his ink. Agent 3 had nearly no safe spots to stand. Arielle came at him again, Lum skillfully dodged the Splat Bomb that was thrown at him, but accidentally landed in the Octarian ink.

Tero slowly advanced his mech, hoping to pin Agent 3 between himself and Arielle. He opened the hatches again, thinking the fight was ending. As Arielle attempted to charge, Agent 3, even as he was semi-paralyzed by standing in enemy ink, surprisingly grabbed her shoulder and flung her toward Tero.

The prince's eyes widened behind his goggles, but there was no stopping the attack now. The ink that gushed forth from the hatch instead hit Arielle rather than the boy. Friendly ink wouldn't splat anyone, but the skilled recruit was flung to the opposite side of the room. And with Arielle momentarily away, Tero would be fighting Lum one on one for a few minutes.

"Clever." Tero said, Lum immediately made an attack as he recognized Tero's attempt to buy some time. He made a blast with his Hero Shot, but it was repelled by an invisible wall. "I hope you don't think I'm stupid enough to sit in this cockpit unprotected. There's a forcefield shielding me that specifically repels ink."

As Tero sat pleased with himself on how he was safe from any manner of practical attack, he failed to notice that his shield had knocked some of Lum's ink straight at the tube Hum was in. The glass shuddered from the impact. At once, Hum began trying to struggle against the glass, instinctively realizing that it might suddenly be easier to do so now.

The display in front of Tero beeped with the notice that his prisoner was making a ruckus. Tero frowned, then pressed one button to send a weak electrical shock through the tube. Hum felt the spark of pain before slumping against the side of the tube.

Lum's eyes widened in outrage as he saw his sister in pain. Tero sighed. "What an unruly prisoner." He looked back down at Agent 3. "Know that I can harm your sister quite easily from here. Not that you have any chance of defeating me by yourself, but do you really want to press your luck with someone who could kill, not splat, _kill_ your sister?"

As he stood there a moment, thinking of a way to keep Tero from hurting his sister, he felt something suddenly press against the side of his head. He turned to see that Arielle had returned, with her Octoshot touching the left side of his head. At that, Tero began to laugh.

"Checkmate, boy." The mech lowered slightly as Tero grew confident in his victory. "You lasted... marginally longer then I thought you would. But you can only beat the odds so long before they beat you, Agent 3. Your adventures in Octo Valley come to an end today."

Despite his opponent's confidence, Lum was far from admitting defeat. He looked up at the tube Lum was in, and one last idea popped into his head. With one swift arm motion, he bludgeoned Arielle with his Hero Shot to knock her back, then threw a single Splat Bomb. Despite his forcefield Tero still instinctively leaned back, only for the bomb to sail above the cockpit. The prince felt amused. "Was that your last desperate attack, Agent 3? You couldn't even aim it proper-"

The entire mech suddenly shook. Tero had to take a moment to regain his footing. Looking at the display beeping in warning, he realized that Agent 3 had struck the tube the hostage was in. Worse, the tube was in critical condition from the attack. At a momentary loss, Tero had the idea to electrocute the tube again, when suddenly it shattered.

Hum landed feet first on the display in front of Tero.

"S-stupid girl. Get off the controls! You'll-"

"Nobody..." Hum whispered through clenched teeth, reaching out and grabbing the prince by the collar of his shirt. "Gets away with trying to hurt anyone in my family." Tero immediately tried to point his wrist weapon at his former hostage, but Hum intercepted the arm, and the two began struggling in the cockpit.

As buttons were pressed and levers were pulled without any manner of coherency, the mech began to spin wildly and let out large waves of ink. At the sight, Arielle forgot all thoughts of Agent 3, rushing forward to aid her prince, but then suddenly fell.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lum asked. Arielle began to pick herself up, turning to see that Lum had grabbed onto her ankle. She clenched her teeth, then heard an odd, large splashing noise. She turned to see the prince's mech had crashed onto the inky floor, various components were sparking as the machine failed. Arielle assumed her octopus form to escape Lum's grasp and swam toward the wreckage. Tero immediately leapt out, grasping at his wrist area.

"She tore my weapon right off." He looked at the sparks being made at the point of where the metal had been ripped. "Truly a savage when given an opportunity." Hum got out of the mech herself, advancing on Tero. He glanced past her at the damaged mech, then sighed. "The world always seems to have something against the idea of a plan coming together, doesn't it?"

As he backed away from the approaching Inkling girl, the back of his head was suddenly struck with ink. He staggered, then turned to see Lum pointing his weapon at him. His eyes quickly shifted to the side, seeing Arielle emerge from the ink and reassume her humanoid form.

"Arielle. Retreat. We'll have to-" He tried to begin to move, but found it was harder than expected. He brushed his hand on the ink coating the back of his head. He sighed. "Arielle, help me retreat. I'm having some trouble moving."

The soldier zoomed to her prince's side, Lum dismissed them, he had someone else to go to. As Tero assumed his octopus form so Arielle could easily carry him, Lum went to his sister.

"Hum." Lum said, he was relieved that at the end of this incident, she was still alive and well. Then he started to realize how fatigued he was. "You're okay, right?"

"Let me ask that question." Hum said, grabbing her brother's shoulders, trying to steady herself after her experience. She took in a breath, still feeling some of the pain from the electricity. "You were in a more dangerous situation then I was. I..." She trailed off for a moment, then suddenly pulled her brother into a hug. "I was worried that I may never have a happy moment with you again."

Lum was caught off-guard as his sister's chin was resting on his shoulder, but then smiled. He found himself just happy to be in his sister's company again. The Octarian's latest plot had been much more frightening than usual. As he found himself returning Hum's hug, he wondered if this was how Callie and Marie had felt when their grandfather had been taken and then later rescued.

* * *

In the throne room, the respawned Tako felt her skin crawl at the sight of the squid siblings' happy reunion on the monitors.

"Disgusting." Sitting on her throne, Arielle's open left hand balled into a fist. She was enraged at the Inklings' happy moment, enraged to accept another defeat, and above all, she was enraged that she had lost inside her own base.

Arvis gulped audibly, and Keu himself looked on edge. It didn't take a genius to understand the rage the princess was feeling. She was rarely in what one might call a good mood, but everyone would suffer when she got like this.

"You may think you have won as you always do, Agent 3." She spoke the words with venom. "But let's see if you can overcome what's coming next." She turned to Arvis. "Jester, activate the base's sub mode."

"My prin-" He started to bow in acknowledgment, then his eyes widened. "B-but, princess Tako. The prince likely hasn't reached one of the safe halls in the base. If we try to do that now, he might-"

Tako slammed her foot on the floor before rising from her throne. "Arvis. Does it _look_ like this is a good time to debate my orders with me?"

The fear seized Arvis immediately, and he ran past Keu toward the controls. "N-no, princess. Right away!"

* * *

As Lum and Hum just seemed content to be together for the moment, even in this hostile territory, loud metallic sounds suddenly rung through the air. Clanking, whirring, and grinding noises filled the ears of the two siblings. The two of them looked around, trying to determine the source of the noise, when suddenly a wall of the room began to open up. And a deadly liquid gushed forth.

"Water?!" Hum's eyes filled with fear. If their inky bodies were submerged in that, then-

Lum tugged his sister by the arm. "Hum, we have to get out of here. Now!" He pulled, and she started running behind him. They fled the room, the metal door swinging shut behind them, the horrible sound of the water crashing on the door behind them registered on their ears. Their eyes, on the other hand, registered all sorts of changes outside of the room. It was like the Octarian base itself had gone crazy. Machinery was moving everywhere, and whatever was happening, they weren't in a safe place.

"What in the world is this place-"

"Think about that later, Lum. Move!"

Pressured by his sister, he quickly set down a Seeker, and the two of them followed it in their squid forms. They went down several twisting corridors and paths each of which were likely a formally calm path, made almost ludicrously dangerous by the moving machinery.

The base wasn't falling apart as Lum first thought, while chaotic at first glance, he was starting to see an order to what was happening. But before he could put together what might precisely was going on, they arrived at the exit.

"H-hey, our shot at safety...!" Hum noticed that the path to the rocks outside the base was gone. And the base had begun to lean away and dip into the water below them, immediately Lum inked the ground.

"Come on, Hum, we need to jump. Become a squid now."

Shifting, the two used Lum's ink path to build up a little speed, then jumped across the gap. Partway through the jump, Lum reassumed his squid form and reached a hand out. In this moment of climax, time itself seemed to slow just to cruelly let Lum wonder if that was really the best way to try and make this jump.

By some miracle, the edge of his fingers managed to grab the end of the rocks. He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Hum also reassumed humanoid form and managed to grab onto one of Lum's legs, but the sudden extra weight made his hand slip from the rock.

For one agonizing moment the world came to a standstill as Lum processed that he and Hum were about to fall. Gravity exerted its force, and the two began to descend to the black void beneath them.

But before fear and panic could really take hold on either of them, Lum realized they had stopped falling. Uncertainly, he looked up, and saw someone holding his hand. A familiar girl was holding his hand, complete with those sunglasses of hers.

"Callie!" Lum shouted, feeling a wave of relief as he knew the ordeal was at last over.

 _Callie?_ Hum looked at the girl who had just saved them. _No, wait, she_ does _look like... but wait. How did Lum immediately recognize-_

Up on top of the rock cliff, Lum was on his hands and knees, breathing heavily after today's events. Hum not nearly as fatigued, though still plenty worn out herself, slowly stood up and looked at the three Inklings near them. Two of them female, one an elderly male.

"That was close, Lum." Marie placed a soothing hand on Lum's shoulders. Lum let the stress fade away, knowing that the challenge of the day was at last over. He looked up and smiled at Callie, Marie, and Cuttlefish.

"Callie, Marie?" Hum asked, looking at the two girls, drawing their attention. "W-what are you doing here?" She looked down at the hand of Marie that was on Lum. "And why are you acting so familiar with Lum?"

Lum leaned back and took a deep breath. "Some explanations might be in order."

* * *

The next hour or two was baffling to Hum. Stories of her little brother being this great hero battling the Octarians, and balancing it with his regular, everyday life. The truth behind why the Great Zapfish had vanished for a time, a plot to steal electrical power from the Inklings to act as the power for their own military. How the Octarians had been scheming for a long, long time to get revenge for the Great Turf War. A threat lurking literally right underneath Inkopolis, and they might already all be feeling the Octarian's wrath if Lum and his talents hadn't been there.

Above all, the elderly Inkling, Cuttlefish, was one of the members of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon. It seemed almost like fate that she and her brother would come to meet him. Did he know that Lum and Hum were the grandchildren of those two other Inkling in the Splatoon?

Hum leaned to the side to privately whisper to her brother. "Okay, I think I've answered the question of where you keep disappearing to. But that just leads to another question."

Lum looked at her, wondering what she was getting at. Hum's eyes narrowed. "You've been good friends with Callie and Marie for a while now, and you _never_ introduced me?"

He leaned away with a discomforted look. "I knew we were going to get to that subject sooner or later."

"So now what, bucko?" Cuttlefish asked, looking at the two siblings. "Best to be mum about all this, but your sister knows about what you Octo Valley now."

Hum took in a breath, already knowing exactly what she wanted to say. "Can I join you?"

Lum was the only one who wasn't surprised. "I've never been good at turf wars, but I want to be able to do something here. I can't let the Octarians get away with all the times they've tried to attack Lum. And I can't let them get away with mistreating zapfish either, like they were doing when Lum was first coming down here." She thought of herself, of how her attempts to protect Lum back in the city only got him in pain and made him do so much to ensure her safety. And she was then reduced into the leverage made to try and control Lum in his battle with Tero. "And I want to practice and become a field agent for you. So I can really fight, and Lum has some real backup out there."

Callie, Marie, and Cuttlefish looked shocked, but Lum just sighed at his sister's predictable thought process. After a moment, Cuttlefish nodded. "We could always use some young buckos to help, but are you sure?"

Hum nodded. "I'm the older sibling. I have to always be watching out for Lum." Lum put a finger to his forehead, Marie grinned at Lum's embarrassment.

Cuttlefish nodded again, already satisfied with the answer. "That settles that, bucko. Welcome to the team, Agent 4."

Hum nodded, turning to grin at her brother. Lum gave her a somewhat relieved, but also somewhat worried expression. Hum knew her brother was wondering if she knew exactly what she was signing up to be a part of, but she was willing to accept a little danger. As her decision was settling in with everyone present, she slowly remembered something that happened in the Octarian base.

"Also." She began, drawing everyone's attention. "During a little escape attempt I made, I caught sight of some kind of developing weapon." Her tone turned grave as she began her explanation of the weapon Tero was constructing, as best as she could recall from what little she had been able to see.

* * *

In the deep, dark, murky waters far beneath Octo Valley, an ominous metallic figure swam against the current. The figure, seeming to essentially be a giant mechanical whale, did not fear detection, so far beneath the water.

Inside the metallic creature, the Octarians breathed a sigh of relief that the day was at last done. It hadn't been the result they sought, but they had survived and were intact as an army. They felt largely satisfied, aside from the princess herself.

Via the monitors, Tako could see nothing but the murky darkness outside of the new form of their base. Here, deep underwater, they would need not fear any Inkling attacks, nor any other surprise intrusions. Yet that did nothing to soothe Tako's anger at their defeat.

"You could have at least bothered to wait until I retreated before transforming the base." Tero grunted, feeling a small bit of pain as he moved, personally manning the controls of their base's altered state. He looked down at his right arm, the metallic wrist weapon still gone. He had ever so slightly underestimated Agent 3, but it was that girl, Hum, who truly made his plans spiral into chaos. He frowned as he reflected on that fact. By focusing too much on the biggest threat, a factor that should have been negligible ended up pulling the rug out from under him.

"You could have bothered to win your fight, brother." Tako growled, still beside herself with anger. "Your supposedly perfect plan to bait Agent 3 with his sister ended in complete defeat."

Tero shook his head, but made no response beyond that. To his side Arielle was still standing, she seemed to be quite the loyalist. At the very least, that was one personal victory for him today. It was a boon to see that what was possibly the greatest soldier in their army, if still green and inexperienced, favored him over the princess.

Of greater note was that his masterpiece wasn't damaged by the base shifting to its aquatic form. Deep inside his greatest invention's production was continuing unhalted. And after it was used to destroy the Inklings, his own relationship with Tako would take a rather... explosive turn. Even in defeat, the corner of Tero's lips curled into a smirk as a long and patient strategy was continuing unhindered.

Arvis gauged the words the two siblings had for each other. Tako was unfeeling to the thought of her brother being lost to the waters, and Tero made no real effort to hide his bitterness at nearly having his inky body dissolved in that deadly liquid. Their words for each other were no surprise. The siblings had never liked each other, someday, one of them was sure to take action to give wings to that dislike.

"This doesn't change anything." Tako said. "We will rise again. We will bring Agent 3's reign as the unchallenged crashing down on his own head, and once he's gone, the Octarians will become the dominant race.

The jester tactician turned to the princess. "And who will dominate the Octarians?"

Tako made a threatening glance at Arvis, who took a step back. "Only me."

Arvis reflected on the personal ambitions he hadn't given up on even after he was demoted to 'jester', and eyed Tako's throne before returning his gaze to the front.

 _We shall see, princess._

* * *

 **You know, it's kind of awkward timing for the new information about Splatoon 2's single player campaign. I planned for Hum to become 'Agent 4' since the story began, but now your PC in Splatoon 2 will be called Agent 4. So, while I've been trying to write a story that could have fit into the canon, my brainwork here will now have to be considered AU, I guess.** **Though it would have become AU regardless, due to a sub-plot I intend to add (and in some ways, has already begun).**

 **We're far from done with my fic, in case you thought it was close to over. You may consider this 'season 1'. I already have the overall story planned out, and it'll basically be split into three 'seasons'.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please look forward to future updates.**


	19. Training For Battle

**Could have uploaded this a week or two ago, but was giving me lots of error messages. Go fig.**

 **Disclaimer: I own OCs, everything else is the property of Nintendo/their respective owners.**

* * *

Hum dodged to the side as a blast of ink moved into the empty space she had been standing in a second ago. What could have splatted her instead just barely touched the hair dangling off the side of her head. Taking a deep breath, she saw her opponent duck into his ink and begin to swim around her.

She knew that as soon as she decided to join Cuttlefish's agent team, that she had to learn something about fighting. It was more than a little out of character for her, but she had begun to participate in the Turf Wars. They were a struggle at first, her reflexes weren't well suited for these competitions, but she was slowly getting better. While having far from a good record as far as victories went, she at least wasn't _always_ the weak link on her team anymore.

The boy of the enemy team that had engaged with her jumped out of his ink and pointed his weapon at her. Hum pointed her own. Her brother favored Aerosprays, she was still experimenting what weapons worked for her mindset, but for now she was using one called a .52 Gal.

The weapon fired slowly, but Hum managed to make one good strike right on her opponent's chest region. The opposing boy reeled back right before he fired his own gun, hitting the ground in front of Hum but failing to strike his intended target, and a second shot from Hum made him explode in ink. She breathed in and out slowly as she felt that small twinge of panic ebbing away. Just these fairly consequence free encounters with other Inklings still took her far out of her comfort zone. She had to bear with it, she would have to be ready for the day she was down in Octo Valley, and putting it all on the line.

As she slowly remembered the battle was still continuing, she heard a noise above her. Looking up, she saw a rotating machine, a 'Sprinkler' it were called. She raised her Gal to shoot it, then felt something metallic press against the back of her head.

She turned to see the barrel of another enemy's gun. Her eyes widened in doomed realization, only for a hand to thrust forward and push the enemy gun aside. An ally of hers put his own gun upon the cheek of the enemy and fired. Hum closed her eyes as the enemy exploded in ink, then after a moment turned toward her ally.

"Mind-games, Hum." Lum said. Hum's brother was participating in this battle. He pointed his Aerospray up above without looking and shot down the Sprinkler. "Sometimes those things are lures. Think a little more."

She frowned at Lum's commentary. "I'm still learning." At the very least, they were allies in this particular battle. One time in a random Turf War they were on opposing teams, and that had been a true horror show, as Hum learned just how much of a skill gap there really was between herself and Lum right now. She also learned during that incident that while Turf Warring, the word 'mercy' temporarily vanished from Lum's vocabulary. One would be tempted to bare a grudge against an opponent who splats you that many times in a single battle.

She knew that she probably made a lot of amateurish mistakes that Lum got annoyed seeing, but she was undoubtedly improving. Lum's criticisms had gone from being nearly constant and endless to merely periodic. Which was good at least, she didn't like putting up with that sarcastic streak of his that occasionally showed its face.

The tank on her back suddenly chimed as an alert that her Special was ready. She grinned with a bit of dark satisfaction. "Well, Lum, if you want me to think a little more, we are on Walleye Warehouse..."

She turned to where the opposing team would spawn in at. It was a fairly narrow area, people returning to the fight would have to advance a bit before they could move more to the sides. Seeing the opportunity, she took out her Killer Wail and pointed it directly at the enemy's side of the map.

Lum smirked as the two enemies they had just splatted and returned to the map had just one moment to make panicked expressions before Hum obliterated them. "That's good." He complimented. "But you do remember that the point isn't to splat them over and over again, right?"

"Ah..." Hum paused at the reminder. "W-well, the longer we keep them out of the action, the more time we have to ink the turf without interruption, right?"

"Good recovery." Lum said. Hum may have made a fair point, but it was a little too obvious that she had forgotten, for the umpteenth time, that Turf Wars weren't about how many times they could splat their enemies. "Now do get back to actually expanding our turf, 'kay?"

She sighed at her brother's snarky tone, then she heard some cries for help elsewhere on the map. "Seems our allies are cornered. Shall we?"

* * *

The battle ended in due time. The team that Lum and Hum were on won by a landslide. One of those moments were one team wins with over 90% of the turf inked. With the match over, the two siblings retired to a bench in Inkopolis plaza. Sitting across from the tower, with the Great Zapfish coiled around the structure, the two entitled themselves to a relaxing moment.

"Not much has really changed since the attack." Hum noted. It wasn't that long ago, a single month to be exact, that an Octarian army had appeared right here in Inkopolis, effectively conquering a small portion of the city. Lum mostly fought them off, then ended up technically defeated by them, though that was partially Hum's own fault. And now, the squids of society were evidentially care-free enough that they couldn't be bothered to ask themselves if a second attack would or could happen.

"I like it that way. I wouldn't want all eyes on us." Lum said. As fortune would have it, while word had gotten out that a lone Inkling had more or less single-handedly made the Octarians retreat, no one was sure who that Inkling had been. All the public at large really knew was that the Inkling had been a boy.

Of course, some had tried to claim to have been the boy in question. Pyrot and Cranch both tried to say they had been the one, though with no one being able to prove their claims, it was still a mystery to the general public who it had been. And if the siblings had it their way, it would stay a mystery. The 5 minutes of fame they had for winning that contest a while back told both of them that excessive fame and popularity were things best avoided.

"Kind of makes me feel sorry for Callie and Marie." Lum quietly said. Lum had entertained a secret friendship with the Squid Sisters for a while now, and now Hum had also been brought into that little circle. Though since almost no time had been spent in Octo Valley since the last incident, Hum had been given only a small few chances to speak to the two. Possibly because of that, Hum had certainly not been shy about pressuring Lum to take her to the valley, so she could spend time with her idols. And maybe spend a little side time protecting Inkopolis. Maybe.

Hum turned to look toward the Squid Sisters' studio, maybe those two were rehearsing for something even as they spoke. After a moment of thought, she turned back to her brother. "Do you suppose the Octarians may be doing anything?"

Lum tilted his head a little at the question. "They've been completely dormant since the last battle." He pushed his glasses up his nose and thought a little. "Their base fell into the water, so maybe... nah. That prince and princess are definitely still around."

"Well, I'd say that they took quite the defeat last time." Hum said, looking into her lap. She had been a witness to her brother's battle with prince Tero, and he may have lost if Lum hadn't given Hum an opportunity to interfere. Though more notable was that one soldier that had been with the prince. "Who was that woman you fought alongside Tero?"

He shrugged.

"You don't know?"

"That time the Octarians invaded Inkopolis was the first I ever saw her." He thought back to his past adventures. "The Octolings normally go down fast, _really_ fast when I fight them. That girl was the first one besides those two royals who lasted more than a few seconds against me."

Hum tried, and failed, to hold in a snicker. "Ever so humble about your talents, brother of mine."

"Hey, there comes a point where you're so skilled that you have to say you're good, or you insult everyone worse then you." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Which would be a _lot_ of squids in this case. You included."

"Oh, you." She lightly tugged on one of her brother's ears. "You just keep in mind who's the older sibling here." Lum turned to her, she looked back, and after a moment the two began to laugh together.

Eventually, Hum looked high into the sky above her, then scooted a little closer to her brother. "After what happened last month, I just like spending time with you, you know?" She grinned a little. "And now I get to spend time with you when you make those mysterious disappearances."

Lum sighed, not wanting his sister fretting for his safety while he was in Octo Valley, that was destined to become a thing if and when the Octarians started moving again. Plus, now that they were talking about Octo Valley, it was only a matter of time before Hum would try to ask Lum to-

"So, when do you want to head to Octo Valley?"

"And there it is." Lum groaned. "Tell me, what's more important to you? Keeping Inkopolis safe... or spending time with your two idols?"

"I think there's time for both." Hum said in an intentionally cute fashion. Lum just groaned a second time, looking over at the manhole to Octo Valley. The Octarians had made no move to return as an acting force, would there even be anything to do in Octo Valley right now? Other then maybe spend some time with the Cap'n. Maybe they could luck out and see Callie and Marie there as well. But with no missions, it would make for a rather boring outing.

"More seriously." Hum said, drawing Lum's attention. "About that weapon I saw in their mother base. Do you... think it's really all prince Tero told me it was?"

Lum tapped a finger to his knee in thought. "He told you that he was building a weapon that could destroy Inkopolis, right?" He looked away for a moment. It could have been a bluff on his part, but the scant few times he had met Tero had told him to not underestimate the prince's technological power. And then he jolted at the realization that Tero, if truthful at what he had told Hum, had been given a whole month to continue creating that weapon in peace.

He bolted to his feet, startling Hum enough that she fell right off the bench.

"Did you see a fire break out or something, Lum?" Hum asked sarcastically as she picked herself up and began dusting herself off before turning to her brother. "Wait, Lum, honestly, is something wrong?" She noticed that her brother's expression had turned grave. She followed his eyes and noticed that he was looking at the manhole down to the valley.

"We need to go back to the valley as soon as we can." He turned to his sister, who blinked once before she instinctively understood Lum's concerns. She nodded as she realized the problem they might have spent the last month sitting on.

Hum took in a breath to steel herself, knowing that a real fight was about to begin. "Right, it'll be time for my first mission in Octo Valley. We'll see what the Octarians are up to, and see how far my experiences in Turf Wars can take me." The corner of her lip curled into a grin. "And we can try to spend some time with Callie and Marie."

"I-" Lum began before trailing off. "Yes, Hum. Yes we can."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


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